Dumbledore's Army reads Deathly Hallows
by RosalindRae13
Summary: When Ginny and Neville start the new D.A once more during the seventh year their first meeting doesn't goes as planned. When Luna finds strange book with Harry on the cover they decide it's time to do a little bit of reading. Note: All rights go to J.K Rowling.
1. The DA Again

Ginny awoke in her dormitory it was the first week of school and the Carrow's had already taken an effect on Hogwarts. Neville Longbottom was given his first detention yesterday for speaking the name Dumbledore. It seemed as if….. _Tom_'s dreams had come true. Ginny cringed remembering Tom Riddle's handsome face that had haunted her during her first year of school.

Heading out of her door room she began to wonder about what Ron (her brother), Hermione, and Harry were doing right now. Dad already told her they were at Grimmauld Place, but that was weeks ago for all she knew they could be in Peru or South America even if it seemed less likely Harry had a way of doing the impossible. Suddenly Ginny's mind formed an image of Harry and suddenly that day at the Burrow with him felt like it was millions of years ago.

With Hogwarts like this she felt similar to when she was in her fourth year of Hogwarts with Umbrige running the school, but now looking back she would be thankful to have her as the Headmistress instead of Snape and the Carrows.

The fake gallon was clutched in her hand; it was Harry's, she sneaked it out during the summer. She knew Luna Lovegood and Neville would have theirs. Neville said he always kept it in his pocket he loved the D.A meetings and Luna said the gallon reminded the feeling of being there, the feeling as if she were with friends.

She scanned the corridor and to see no one was in sight she took out the gallon and began putting in the date for tomorrow morning in the Room of Requirement. She placed it in her pocket and made her way to the Great Hall to only see the grimacing scene of a first year getting scolded by the Carrows.

Ginny arrived to the entrance of the Room of Requirement and before she could do anything else Neville ran around the corner. Ginny smiled happy to see Neville's face until she saw this bulging purple bruise around his eye

"Ginny" Neville whispered waving his coin.

"Neville, How are you?" Ginny asked looking at the seventh year's eye.

"Fine" Neville whispered back. "Have you heard anything about Harry I assumed he was at…" Neville stopped abruptly; he saw a flash in Ginny's eyes.

"Not here" she whispered pointing to the wall. Neville nodded and then pointed to himself. Ginny understood and moved away from the wall allowing Neville to open the Room of Requirement. Neville paced in front of the wall three times and then a few seconds later a door appeared and at that moment Luna swiftly appeared her footsteps silent against the floor causing Neville not to notice the queer Ravenclaw girl.

"Hello Ginny, Neville" Luna said making Neville jump, but Ginny smiled at her friend.

"Knargles make you have narrow sided vision" Luna commented making Neville blush. "Shall we?" Luna continued opening the door with the two following behind her.

It was as Ginny remembered it. The stun dummies, Defense against the Dark Arts books, however new things were added to the room. One was a portrait of ill sweet girl, and the other was a package of Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

"Neville it's great!" Ginny said making Neville blush more. She turned to the door she had just entered by. A small hope flickered in her chest that maybe others would come soon.

"How odd" Luna mumbled as three people came flooding into the room. It was Terry Boot, Cho Chang, and Seamus Finnegan

"So D.A is back?" Cho asked smiling. Ginny only nodded considering she never really liked Cho maybe it was just old jealousy since Harry used to like her, but sometimes Ginny felt that Cho might still having feelings for him.

"Yeah" Neville said as Seamus gave Neville a man- hug.

"Odd"

Hannah Abbott walked in making Neville wave dumbly at her causing Hannah to blushed lightly while her friend Ernie Macmillan followed behind her.

"Harry Potter" Luna said making everyone snap their heads toward her. Ginny was half- expecting to see Harry there.

"What Luna?" Ginny asked.

"It's says _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"_ Luna spoke softly. The D.A walked closer to see. It was a book. And when Ginny saw it she jumped in surprise seeing that the book had Harry's drawn face on the cover. Terry took the book turning it on the back cover.

"This is his seventh year" Terry said.

"So that means its going to tell us what he's doing or going to do?" Cho asked. Terry nodded.

"Maybe we should read it" Hannah offered .Everyone looked (surprisingly) to Neville with his posture strong and tall he took the book and examined it.

"Let's read" Neville agreed and everyone began sitting in the sofas and loveseats the room suddenly provided for.


	2. The Dark Lord Ascending

"I'll read" Neville said clearing his throat "_The Dark Lord Ascending"_

Most people in the room felt a knot in their stomach.

**The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at each other's chests; then, recognizing each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same direction. **

**"News?" asked the taller of the two. **

**"The best," replied Severus Snape. **

"Death Eaters" mumbled Ernie and everyone nodded in agreement.

**The lane was bordered on the left by wild, low-growing brambles, on the right by a high, neatly manicured hedge. The men's long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched. "Thought I might be late," said Yaxley, his blunt features sliding in and out of sight as the branches of overhanging trees broke the moonlight**

"I thought this was supposed to be about Harry?" Cho asked, but no one replied back to her for they were just as confused as she was.

**"It was a little trickier than I expected. But I hope he will be satisfied. You sound confident that your reception will be good?" Snape nodded, but did not elaborate. They turned right, into a wide driveway that led off the lane. The high hedge curved into them, running off into the distance beyond the pair of imposing wrought-iron gates barring the men's way. Neither of them broke step: In silence both raised their left arms in a kind of salute and passed straight through, as though the dark metal was smoke.**

"What are they talking about?" Hannah asked

"I don't know. I just hope it's not about Harry" Neville said and everyone nervously nodded in agreement expect Ginny who knew that it had to be about Harry. I mean who else could it be?

**The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men's footsteps. There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again pointing it over his companion's head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the hedge.**

"**He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks …" Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with a snort.**

"It's Malfoy Manor!" Ernie cried remembering back to the summer when his father and he happened to be the tent next to the Malfoy's tent during the Quidditch Cup. They had peacocks waltzing outside their tent and they always seem to leave a bunch of tail feathers all around Ernie's tent giving his father a fit. At this statement the D.A's thoughts were now on Draco Malfoy and they couldn't help, but snort.

"Of course." Scoffed Ginny

**A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond paned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing. Gravel crackled beneath their feet as Snape and Yaxley sped toward the front door, which swung inward at their approach, though nobody had visibly opened it.**

**The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the wall followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two men halted at a heavy wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, and then Snape turned the bronze handle.**

**The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table. The room's usual furniture had been pushed carelessly up against the walls. Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the scene: an apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisible rope, and reflected in the mirror and in the bare, polished surface of the table below. **

"That's sick" Cho commented. Luna sighed shaking her head, What had happened to the world?

**None of the people seated underneath this singular sight were looking at it except for a pale young man sitting almost directly below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from glancing upward every minute or so.**

"**Yaxley. Snape," said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. "You are very nearly late."**

"How dare you be nearly late." surprisingly Neville mocked. Everyone stared at him.

"Good one Neville" Seamus commented. Ginny nodded in agreement she was shocked to see Neville's character change so quickly and suddenly.

**The speaker was seated directly in front of the fireplace, so that it was difficult, at first, for the new arrivals to make out more than his silhouette. As they drew nearer, however, his face shone through the gloom, hairless, snakelike, with slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertical. He was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow.**

"Ew" Hannah muttered softly expressing the word that everyone thought of when they heard the description of You- Know-Who, he really was…ew.

"**Severus, here," said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right. "Yaxley – beside Dolohov."**

"He's his right hand man!" Ginny snarled

"Are you ok?" Ernie asked

"It seems that she is upset" Luna commented

"Snape _was_ in the Order of the Phoenix it was the organization that worked against V-"Ginny stopped knowing the taboo "You-Know-Who until last year when he betrayed us."

"Oh." Replied Ernie weakly as everyone else in the D.A were shocked to hear that Snape actually worked against You-Know-Who or well he used to anyway.

**The two men took their allotted places. Most of the eyes around the table followed Snape, and it was to him that Voldemort spoke first.**

"**So?"**

"**My Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall."**

Ginny's fist curled by her sides,

"No!" an echo of voices cried throughout the Room of Requirement

"Poor Harry" Hannah whispered to Neville who nodded in agreement with her with a slight blush on his face.

**The interest around the table sharpened palpably: Some stiffened; others fidgeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort.**

**"Saturday … at nightfall," repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snape's black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort's face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort's lipless mouth curved into something like a smile.**

"**Good. Very good. And this information comes –"**

"– **from the source we discussed," said Snape.**

"What source?" Terry asked curiously

"Mundungous" Ginny whispered softly so only Luna could hear. Luna nodded and began to patt her hand on Ginny's back; Neville raised an eyebrow at the two.

"Love is a strong emotion" Luna whispered to him. Neville just nodded unsure how to respond.

**My Lord."**

**Yaxley had leaned forward to look down the long table at Voldemort and Snape. All faces turned to him.**

"**My Lord, I have heard differently."**

**Yaxley waited, but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on, "Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen."**

"One of them is probably a false trail" Cho said "Maybe they'll fall for the fake one."

"Which one is the fake one?" asked Hannah

"The Ministry" answered Neville before Ginny could answer her.

**Snape was smiling.**

"**My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is known to be susceptible."**

"**I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain," said Yaxley.**

"**If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain," said Snape. "I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry."**

"So much for falling for the false trail" Terry mumbled

"**The Order's got one thing right, then, eh?" said a squat man sitting a short distance from Yaxley; he gave a wheezy giggle that was echoed here and there along the table.**

**Voldemort did not laugh. His gaze had wandered upward to the body revolving slowly overhead, and he seemed to be lost in thought.**

**"My Lord," Yaxley went on, "Dawlish believes an entire party of Aurors will be used to transfer the boy –"**

**Voldemort held up a large white hand, and Yaxley subsided at once, watching resentfully as Voldemort turned back to Snape.**

"**Where are they going to hide the boy next?"**

"**At the home of one of the Order," said Snape. "The place, according to the source, has been given every protection that the Order and Ministry together could provide. I think that there is little chance of taking him once he is there, my Lord, unless, of course, the Ministry has fallen before next Saturday, which might give us the opportunity to discover and undo enough of the enchantments to break through the rest."**

"The Ministry is terrible!" Hannah said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"**Well, Yaxley?" Voldemort called down the table, the firelight glinting strangely in his red eyes. "Will the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?"**

**Once again, all heads turned. Yaxley squared his shoulders.**

"**My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have – with difficulty, and after great effort – succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius Thicknesse."**

**Many of those sitting around Yaxley looked impressed; his neighbor, Dolohov, a man with a long, twisted face, clapped him on the back.**

"Thicknesse?" Terry questioned "He's the head of Law Enforcement!"

"Oh dear" Hannah said

"**It is a start," said Voldemort. "But Thicknesse is only one man. Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed attempt on the Minister's life will set me back a long way."**

"**Yes – my Lord that is true – but you know, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse has regular contact not only with the Minister himself, but also with the Heads of all the other Ministry departments. It will, I think, be easy now that we have such a high-ranking official under our control, to subjugate the others, and then they can all work together to bring Scrimgeour down."**

This made everyone feel nervous realizing the control You- Know- Who now has over the Ministry.

"**As long as our friend Thicknesse is not discovered before he has converted the rest," said Voldemort. "At any rate, it remains unlikely that the Ministry will be mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then it must be done while he travels."**

"**We are at an advantage there, my Lord," said Yaxley, who seemed determined to receive some portion of approval. "We now have several people planted within the Department of Magical Transport. If Potter Apparates or uses the Floo Network, we shall know immediately."**

"Great" Ernie mumbled

"The Order must not trust the Ministry anymore so they won't use Floo or Apparation so that means they are going to fly in the open air with thins like broomsticks and thestrals" said Terry

"At least Harry won't get caught that easily" Hannah said.

"But he'll be in open air. It will make him vulnerable." Cho added. Right then Ginny would have done something to Cho if she didn't know how it all ended.

"**He will not do either," said Snape. "The Order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled or regulated by the Ministry; they mistrust everything to do with the place."**

"**All the better," said Voldemort. "He will have to move in the open. Easier to take, by far."**

Everyone looked at Cho and Terry who both looked a little green.

**Again, Voldemort looked up at the slowly revolving body as he went on, "I shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more to my errors than to his triumphs."**

Everyone snorted

"HA! He wishs. Harry is awesome! With all the adventured he did at school." Seamus said thinking back at the end of the year when he would hear the wild rumors that the Golden Trio did each year at Hogwarts.

**The company around the table watched Voldemort apprehensively, each of them, by his or her expression, afraid that they might be blamed for Harry Potter's continued existence. Voldemort, however, seemed to be speaking more to himself than to any of them, still addressing the unconscious body above him.**

**"I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be."**

Everyone had a dark look in their face wondering how Harry was going to defeat him.

"He's going to defeat him" Luna said and everyone looked at her. "Harry has love"

**At these words, seemingly in response to them, a sudden wail sounded, a terrible, drawn-out cry of misery and pain. Many of those at the table looked downward startled, for the sound had seemed to issue from below their feet.**

"Oh dear!" Hannah spoke

"**Wormtail," said Voldemort,**

"Wormtail?" Terry asked looking at Ginny.

"He betrayed Harry's parents to You- Know- Who" Ginny replied bitterly.

"I thought that was Sirius Black." Cho retorted

" Don't you mean Stubby Boardman" said Luna to Cho, but was ignored.

"Sirius was framed" Ginny said "He was also Harry's god-father" everyone now looked stunned at this new information.

"Poor Harry" Hannah said.

**with no change in his quiet, thoughtful tone, and without removing his eyes from the revolving body above, "have I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?"**

"**Yes, m-my Lord," gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low in his chair that it appeared, at first glance, to be unoccupied. Now he scrambled from his seat and scurried from the room, leaving nothing behind him but a curious gleam of silver.**

"**As I was saying," continued Voldemort, looking again at the tense faces of his followers, "I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter**

"Why does he need to borrow a wand?" Ernie asked

Everyone shrugged in response and then suddenly a note appeared in the air above them and began to drift down into Ernie's hands.

_You- Know- Who and Harry's wands both have the same phoenix feather this feather belongs to Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix_

"Wow" Terry said. "They have a connection between their wands."

Everyone in room had a look of astonishment on their face.

**The faces around him displayed nothing but shock; he might have announced that he wanted to borrow one of their arms.**

**"No volunteers?" said Voldemort. "Let's see … Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore."**

Some snorted

"Not a favorite anymore" Seamus muttered with a smirk on his face.

**Lucius Malfoy looked up. His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.**

"**My Lord?"**

"**Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand."**

"**I …"**

**Malfoy glanced sideways at his wife. She was staring straight ahead, quite as pale as he was, her long blonde hair hanging down her back, but beneath the table her slim fingers closed briefly on his wrist. At her touch, Malfoy put his hand into his robes, withdrew a wand, and passed it along to Voldemort, who held it up in front of his red eyes, examining it closely.**

"**What is it?"**

"**Elm, my Lord," whispered Malfoy.**

"**And the core?"**

"**Dragon – dragon heartstring."**

"**Good," said Voldemort. He drew out his wand and compared the lengths. Lucius Malfoy made an involuntary movement; for a fraction of a second, it seemed he expected to receive Voldemort's wand in exchange for his own. The gesture was not missed by Voldemort, whose eyes widened maliciously.**

"Uh-oh" Hannah and Neville said at the same time making both of them blush.

"**Give you my wand, Lucius? My wand?"**

**Some of the throng sniggered.**

"**I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late … What is it about my presence in your home that displaces you, Lucius?"**

"**Nothing – nothing, my Lord!"**

"**Such lies Lucius … "**

**The soft voice seemed to hiss on even after the cruel mouth had stopped moving. One or two of the wizards barely repressed a shudder as the hissing grew louder; something heavy could be heard sliding across the floor beneath the table.**

**The huge snake emerged to climb slowly up Voldemort's chair. It rose, seemingly endlessly, and came to rest across Voldemort's shoulders: its neck the thickness of a man's thigh; its eyes, with their vertical slits for pupils, unblinking. Voldemort stroked the creature absently with long thin fingers, still looking at Lucius Malfoy.**

"**Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?"**

Everyone made a certain face during this conversation deciding whether to feel sorry or laugh at the Malfoy's situation.

"**Of course, my Lord," said Lucius Malfoy. His hand shook as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. "We did desire it – we do."**

**To Malfoy's left, his wife made an odd, stiff nod, her eyes averted from Voldemort and the snake. To his right, his son, Draco, who had been gazing up at the inert body overhead, glanced quickly at Voldemort and away again, terrified to make eye contact.**

"**My Lord," said a dark woman halfway down the table, her voice constricted with emotion, **

Neville knotted his hands into fist, Ginny locked her jaw, and Luna sighed remembering the cruel woman at the Department of Mysteries. The rest of the D.A looked at the three and confusion, but it didn't last long for Neville finally snapped out of his anger and continued reading.

"**it is an honor to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no higher pleasure."**

**She sat beside her sister, as unlike her in looks, with her dark hair and heavily lidded eyes, as she was in bearing and demeanor; where Narcissa sat rigid and impassive, Bellatrix leaned toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness.**

"Gross" Terry commented everyone nodded in agreement all of them having the same look of disgust on their faces.

"**No higher pleasure," repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. "That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you."**

**Her face flooded with color; her eyes welled with tears of delight.**

"**My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!"**

"**No higher pleasure … even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?"**

"What happened?" Hannah asked and everyone shrugged except Ginny who now smiled remembering the news about Professor Lupin and Tonks.

"You know" Seamus said "And you are not going to tell us are you?"

"Yep"

**She stared at him, her lips parted, evidently confused.**

"**I don't know what you mean, my Lord."**

"**I'm talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud."**

Everyone began to celebrate.

"Oh wonderful!" Luna and Hannah said both smiling.

"Go Professor Lupin!" Seamus cheered along with others and after a minute or two everyone settled down still smiling about the news of their favorite Professor.

**There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table. Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks; a few thumped the table with their fists. The giant snake, disliking the disturbance, opened its mouth wide and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear it, so jubilant were they at Bellatrix and the Malfoys' humiliation. Bellatrix's face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an ugly, blotchy red.**

**"She is no niece of ours, my Lord," she cried over the outpouring of mirth. "We – Narcissa and I – have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries."**

"Professor Lupin is no beast!" Neville retorted with Seamus nodding in agreement.

"How rude!" Cho said

"The world is so clean cut" Luna said sadly she too like Professor Lupin who always enjoyed her talk of creatures that everyone else said didn't exist.

"**What say you, Draco?" asked Voldemort, and though his voice was quiet, it carried clearly through the catcalls and jeers. "Will you babysit the cubs?"**

"Cubs?" Ginny cried out of rage all of the D.A had a look of anger or disgust on their face.

**The hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was staring down into his own lap, then caught his mother's eye. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at the opposite wall.**

"**Enough," said Voldemort, stroking the angry snake. "Enough."**

**And the laughter died at once.**

"**Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time," he said as Bellatrix gazed at him, breathless and imploring, "You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest."**

Many people scoffed at this statement.

"And he's a half-blood!" Ginny cried in frustration.

"He's a half- blood?" said Seamus who is a half- blood himself.

"Yes, his father was a muggle and his mother was a witch" Ginny explained and now everyone in the rom looked more stunned than angry.

"**Yes, my Lord," whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears of gratitude again. "At the first chance!"**

"**You shall have it," said Voldemort. "And in your family, so in the world … we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain …"**

**Voldemort raised Lucius Malfoy's wand, pointed it directly at the slowly revolving figure suspended over the table, and gave it a tiny flick. The figure came to life with a groan and began to struggle against invisible bonds.**

"**Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" asked Voldemort.**

**Snape raised his eyes to the upside down face. All of the Death Eaters were looking up at the captive now, as though they had been given permission to show curiosity. As she revolved to face the firelight, the woman said in a cracked and terrified voice, "Severus! Help me!"**

**Ah, yes," said Snape as the prisoner turned slowly away again.**

"**And you, Draco?" asked Voldemort, stroking the snake's snout with his wand-free hand. Draco shook his head jerkily. Now that the woman had woken, he seemed unable to look at her anymore.**

"**But you would not have taken her classes," said Voldemort. "For those of you who do not know, we are joined here tonight by Charity Burbage who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."**

Hannah sniffled "Oh no!" her head leaning on Neville's shoulder. At this Neville's posture turned stiff as a board not wanting to move the shoulder Hannah rested her head on.

"She is a very nice woman" Cho whispered

"Innocent are always the first" Luna commented her voice laced with sadness.

**There were small noises of comprehension around the table. A broad, hunched woman with pointed teeth cackled.**

"**Yes … Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards all about Muggles … how they are not so different from us … "**

"It's true!" everyone shouted

**One of the Death Eaters spat on the floor. Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape again.**

"**Severus … please … please … "**

"And he does nothing" growled Terry and seeing his anger Cho rubbed her hand against his arm hoping to sooth her friend.

**"Silence," said Voldemort, with another twitch of Malfoy's wand, and Charity fell silent as if gagged. "Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance … She would have us all mate with Muggles … or, no doubt, werewolves … "**

"Which is fine" Ginny said

**Nobody laughed this time. There was no mistaking the anger and contempt in Voldemort's voice. For the third time, Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape. Tears were pouring from her eyes into her hair. Snape looked back at her, quite impassive, as she turned slowly away from him again.**

"**Avada Kedavra"**

**The flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room. Charity fell, with a resounding crash, onto the table below, which trembled and creaked. Several of the Death Eaters leapt back in their chairs. Draco fell out of his onto the floor.**

"**Dinner, Nagini," said Voldemort softly, and the great snake swayed and slithered from his shoulders onto the polished wood.**

"That was terrible" Hannah sniffled.

"That's the chapter" Neville finished putting one arm over Hannah carefully Ginny couldn't help, but smirk. "Who wants to read?"

"I will" said Cho.


	3. In Memoriam

"_In Memoriam"_ Cho read, everyone thought of Dumbledore's death and the Prophets stories. Ginny and the D.A knew Dumbledore and Harry had a close bond and for Harry it must be terrible to hear horrible things about your mentor.

**Harry was bleeding.**

"Great" groaned Ginny

"Well that was a lovely introduction" Ernie commented. Hannah frowned at this, How many times was Harry going to get injured this year?

**Clutching his right hand in his left and swearing under his breath, he shouldered open his bedroom door. There was a crunch of breaking china. He had trodden on a cup of cold tea that had been sitting on the floor outside his bedroom door.**

"What?" everyone asked.

"Cold tea…. On the floor?" Neville asked unsure to Cho who nodded "That's what it says"

**"What the -?"**

**He looked around, the landing of number four, Privet Drive, was deserted. Possibly the cup of tea was Dudley's idea of a clever booby trap. **

"Very" Terry said coldly with sarcasm. Luna frowned "Why would his cousin do that?" at that question everyone looked at Ginny who shrugged. "He never talked about his home life often"

At this statement many of the D.A frowned all of them having the same sneaky suspicion that maybe Harry's home life wasn't as good as they suspected.

**Keeping his bleeding hand elevated, Harry scraped the fragments of cup together with the other hand and threw them into the already crammed bin just visible inside his bedroom door. Then he tramped across to the bathroom to run his finger under the tap.**

**It was stupid, pointless, irritating beyond belief that he still had four days left of being unable to perform magic…**

The people in the room who were seventeen understood what Harry was going through.

"I guess it would be difficult." Said Ginny sympathetically

It was soon after this was said the door open showing Colin and Dennis Creevy, who were both panting.

"The Carrows" Dennis said panting between words as he and his older brother made toward them.

"What happened?" asked Hannah with concern written all over her face.

"Nothing, we almost got caught when we were trying to come here, but there was a secret passage way so we escaped" Dennis informed the D.A

"What's going on?" Colin asked.

"We are reading about Harry's adventures during this year and how he was going to fight off You-Know-Who" Seamus said at this Colin and Dennis's faces became blushed with excitement and both quickly sat down with Seamus their fellow Gryffindor as the D.A explained the last chapter's events.

**but he had to admit to himself that this jagged cut in his finger would have defeated him. He had never learned how to repair wounds, and now he came to think of it – particularly in light of his immediate plans – this seemed a serious flaw in his magical education**.

During Ernie's reading the Creevy brothers were literally jumping in their seats with both of them still big fans of Harry Potter it was a dream come true to hear Harry's actual thoughts.

**Making a mental note to ask Hermione how it was done,**

Ginny and Neville snorted,

"What?" asked Dennis

"That's just like them" Ginny explained "When in doubt ask Hermione!" everyone chuckled at this.

**he used a large wad of toilet paper to mop up as much of the tea as he could before returning to his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.**

**Harry had spent the morning completely emptying his school trunk for the first time since he had packed it six years ago. At the start of the intervening school years, he had merely skimmed off the topmost three quarters of the contents and replaced or updated them, leaving a layer of general debris at the bottom – old quills, desiccated beetle eyes, single socks that no longer fit. **

"What is he doing?" Colin asked

"Probably cleaning out his trunk" Neville said "Since he didn't come to school this year."

**Minutes previously, Harry had plunged his hand into this mulch, experienced a stabbing pain in the fourth finger of his right hand, and withdrawn it to see a lot of blood.**

**He now proceeded a little more cautiously. Kneeling down beside the trunk again, he groped around in the bottom and, after retrieving an old badge that flickered feebly between SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY and POTTER STINKS, a cracked and worn-out Sneakoscope, and a gold locket inside which a note signed R.A.B. had been hidden, he finally discovered the sharp edge that had done the damage. **

"R.A.B?" Terry asked to the air above him

"Um Terry?" Dennis said "What are you-." But before Dennis could finish the note appeared suddenly in the air above Terry making Dennis open his mouth wide in awe. Once it landed in Terry's hands he read:

_On the night Dumbledore died he and Harry went into a cave and found this locket believing it is one part of the key to defeat You-Know- Who, but is was fake and inside this locket there was a letter from R.A.B saying he had the real locket now and planned to destroy it. And now Harry has to find the real locket._

"Something is missing why is the locket so important?" Terry asked after reading the note he looked to the ceiling, but no note came.

"Maybe it is mentioned later in the story?" Seamus offered

**He recognized it at once. It was a two-inch-long fragment of the enchanted mirror that his dead godfather, Sirius, had given him. Harry laid it aside and felt cautiously around the trunk for the rest, but nothing more remained of his godfather's last gift except powdered glass, which clung to the deepest layer of debris like glittering grit.**

**Harry sat up and examined the jagged piece on which he had cut himself, seeing nothing but his own bright green eye reflected back at him. Then he placed the fragment on top of that morning's Daily prophet, which lay unread on the bed, and attempted to stem the sudden upsurge of bitter memories, the stabs of regret and of longing the discovery of the broken mirror had occasioned, by attacking the rest of the rubbish in the trunk.**

"A mirror?" Cho questioned

"It's a gift Sirius gave to Harry after Christmas Break" Ginny explained

"Why?"

"To look at another" Luna commented making everyone look at her and when Luna said nothing else the D.A turned back to Cho who continued reading.

**It took another hour to empty it completely, throw away the useless items, and sort the remainder in piles according to whether or not he would need them from now on. His school and Quidditch robes, cauldron, parchment, quills, and most of his textbooks were piled in a corner, to be left wondered what his aunt and uncle would do with them; burn them in the dead of night,**

"Why?" Asked Colin outraged to why anyone would do that.

"I think Harry's aunt and uncle don't like magic" said Neville sharply, at that statement the atmosphere in the Room of Requirement turned grim.

**probably, as if they were evidence of some dreadful crime. His Muggle clothing, Invisibility Cloak, potion-making kit, certain books, and the photograph album Hagrid had once given him, a stack of letters, and his wand had been repacked into an old rucksack. In a front pocket were the Marauder's Map**

"Marauder's Map?" questioned Seamus with a raised eyebrow and like before with Terry the note appeared and landed on his lap. Seamus read:

_The Marauders map is an enchanted map that showed every room in Hogwarts including secret tunnels. Not only that, but it shows the location of every person that enters Hogwarts. The creators of this map were Prongs (James Potter, Harry's dad), Padfoot (Sirius Black), Moony (Remus Lupin), and Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew). _

"Professor Lupin was a trouble- maker!" Seamus exclaimed in surprise along with many people who were surprised to hear that a teacher could be a troublemaker. However the small group of Ravenclaws were interested in the map instead of the creators who made it.

"Do you think we could make one?" whispered Terry to Cho.

"Possibly."

**and the locket with the note signed R.A.B. inside it. The locket was accorded this place of honor not because it was valuable – in all usual senses it was worthless – but because of what it had cost to attain it.**

**This left a sizable stack of newspapers sitting on his desk beside his snowy owl, Hedwig: one for each of the days Harry had spent at Privet Drive this summer.**

**He got up off the floor, stretched, and moved across to his desk. Hedwig made no movement as he began to flick through newspapers, throwing them into the rubbish pile one by one. The owl was asleep or else faking; she was angry with Harry about the limited amount of time she was allowed out of her cage at the moment.**

**Harry sighed sadly, he hated that she was mad at him so close to the end.**

**As he neared the bottom of the pile of newspapers, Harry slowed down, searching for one particular issue that he knew had arrived shortly after he had returned to Privet Drive for the summer; he remembered that there had been a small mention on the front about the resignation of Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts. At last he found it. Turning to page ten, he sank into his desk chair and reread the article he had been looking for.**

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE REMEMBERED**

**By Elphias Doge**

**I met Albus Dumbledore at the age of eleven, on our first day at Hogwarts. Our mutual attraction was undoubtedly due to the fact that we both felt ourselves to be outsiders. I had contracted dragon pox shortly before arriving at school, and while**

**I was no longer contagious, my pock-marked visage and greenish hue did not encourage many to approach me. For his part, Albus had arrived at Hogwarts under the burden of unwanted notoriety. Scarcely a year previously, his father, Percival, had been convicted of a savage and well-publicized attack upon three young Muggles.**

Everyone remembered this in the papers besides Luna who only reads The Quibbler.

"Is it true?" asked Dennis hopeful that someone would say it was wrong, but no one answered since they were not sure themselves making Dennis feel more doubtful than before.

**Albus never attempted to deny that his father (who was to die in Azkaban) had committed this crime; on the contrary, when I plucked up courage to ask him, he assured me that he knew his father to be guilty. Beyond that, Dumbledore refused to speak of the sad business, though many attempted to make him do so. Some, indeed, were disposed to praise his father's action and assumed that Albus too was a Muggle-hater. They could not have been more mistaken: As anybody who knew Albus would attest, he never revealed the remotest anti-Muggle tendency. Indeed, his determined support for Muggle rights gained him many enemies in subsequent years.**

**In a matter of months, however, Albus's own fame had begun to eclipse that of his father. By the end of his first year he would never again be known as the son of a Muggle-hater, but as nothing more or less than the most brilliant student ever seen at the school. Those of us who were privileged to be his friends benefited from his example, not to mention his help and encouragement, with which he was always generous. He confessed to me later in life that he knew even then that his greatest pleasure lay in teaching.**

**He not only won every prize of note that the school offered, he was soon in regular correspondence with the most notable magical names of the day, including Nicolas Flamel, the celebrated alchemist; Bathilda Bagshot, the noted historian;**

**and Adalbert Waffling, the magical theoretician. Several of his papers found their way into learned publications such as Transfiguration Today, Challenges in Charming, and The Practical Potioneer. Dumbledore's future career seemed likely to be meteoric, and the only question that remained was when he would become Minister of Magic. Though it was often predicted in later years that he was on the point of taking the job, however, he never had Ministerial ambitions.**

"I wish he was" Ginny mumbled. The Ministry had no backbone.

**Three years after we had started at Hogwarts, Albus's brother, Aberforth, arrived at school. They were not alike: Aberforth was never bookish and, unlike Albus, preferred to settle arguments by dueling rather than through reasoned discussion.**

"His brother is very different" Luna said more to herself than the others in the room.

**However, it is quite wrong to suggest, as some have, that the brothers were not friends. They rubbed along as comfortably as two such different boys could do. In fairness to Aberforth, it must be admitted that living in Albus's shadow cannot have been an altogether comfortable experience. Being continually outshone was an occupational hazard of being his friend and cannot have been any more pleasurable as a brother. When Albus and I left Hogwarts we intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together, visiting and observing foreign wizards, before pursuing our separate careers. However, tragedy intervened. On the very eve of our trip, Albus's mother, Kendra, died, leaving**

**Albus the head, and sole breadwinner, of the family. I postponed my departure long enough to pay my respects at Kendra's funeral, then left for what was now to be a solitary journey. With a younger brother and sister to care for, **

"A sister?" questioned Colin. Everyone nodded they were all shocked about Dumbledore having a sister.

**and little gold left to them, there could no longer be any question of Albus accompanying me.**

**That was the period of our lives when we had least contact. I wrote to Albus, describing, perhaps insensitively, the wonders of my journey, from narrow escapes from chimaeras in Greece to the experiments of the Egyptian alchemists. His letters told me little of his day-to-day life, which I guessed to be frustratingly dull for such a brilliant wizard. Immersed in my own experiences, it was with horror that I heard, toward the end of my year's travels, that another tragedy had struck the Dumbledores: the death of his sister, Ariana.**

"Poor Professor Dumbledore." Sniffled Hannah teary- eyed.

**Though Ariana had been in poor health for a long time, the blow, coming so soon after the loss of their mother, had a profound effect on both of her brothers. All those closest to Albus – and I count myself one of that lucky number – agree that Ariana's death, and Albus's feeling of personal responsibility for it (though, of course, he was guiltless),**

"Sounds like Harry" Ginny commented thinking about how he felt personally responsible for everyone.

"True" Cho said making something inside Ginny's stomach stir violently.

**left their mark upon him forevermore.**

**I returned home to find a young man who had experienced a much older person's suffering. Albus was more reserved than before, and much less light-hearted. To add to his misery, the loss of Ariana had led, not to a renewed closeness between Albus and Aberforth, but to an estrangement. (In time this would lift – in later years they reestablished, if not a close relationship, then certainly a cordial one.) However, he rarely spoke of his parents or of Ariana from then on, and his friends learned not to mention them.**

**Other quills will describe the triumphs of the following years. Dumbledore's innumerable contributions to the store of Wizarding knowledge, including his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, will benefit generations to come, as will the wisdom he displayed in the many judgments while Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. They say, still, that no Wizarding duel ever matched that between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in 1945.**

**Those who witnessed it have written of the terror and the awe they felt as they watched these two extraordinary wizards to battle.**

"I wonder what it's like" Colin said trying to imagine it while Luna, Ginny, and Neville thought of the night at the Ministry when they had to watched the Order battle the Death Eaters.

**Dumbledore's triumph, and its consequences for the Wizarding world, are considered a turning point in magical history to match the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy or the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.**

**Albus Dumbledore was never proud or vain; he could find something to value in anyone, however apparently insignificant or wretched, and I believe that his early losses endowed him with great humanity and sympathy. I shall miss his friendship more than I can say, but my loss is nothing compared to the Wizarding world's. That he was the most inspiring and best loved of all Hogwarts headmasters cannot be in question. He died as he lived: working always for the greater good and, **

**to his last hour, as willing to stretch out a hand to a small boy with dragon pox as he was on the day I met him.**

**Harry finished reading, but continued to gaze at the picture accompanying the obituary. Dumbledore was wearing his familiar, kindly smile, but as he peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles, he gave the impression, even in newsprint, of X-raying Harry, whose sadness mingled with a sense of humiliation.**

"Humiliation?" Seamus questioned

**He had thought he knew Dumbledore quite well, but ever since reading this obituary he had been forced to recognize that he had barely known him at all. Never once had he imagined Dumbledore's childhood or youth; it was as though he had sprung into being as Harry had known him, venerable and silver-haired and old.**

Everyone laughed nodding in agreement. "Too true" choked out Seamus.

**The idea of a teenage Dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid Hermione or a friendly Blast-Ended Skrewt.**

**He had never thought to ask Dumbledore about his past. No doubt it would have felt strange, impertinent even, but after all it had been common knowledge that Dumbledore had taken part in that legendary duel with Grindelwald, and Harry had not thought to ask Dumbledore what that had been like, nor about any of his other famous achievements. No, they had always discussed Harry, Harry's past, Harry's future, Harry's plans… and it seemed to Harry now, despite the fact that his future was so dangerous and so uncertain, that he had missed irreplaceable opportunities when he had failed to ask Dumbledore more about himself, even though the only personal question he had ever asked his headmaster was also the only one he suspected that Dumbledore had not answered honestly:**

**"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

**"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**

"Mirror?" questioned Terry curiously looking up at the ceiling, but no note fell "Never mind then."

**After several minutes' thought, Harry tore the obituary out of the Prophet, folded it carefully, and tucked it inside the first volume of Practical Defensive Magic and its Use against the Dark Arts. Then he threw the rest of the newspaper onto the rubbish pile and turned to face the room. It was much tidier. The only things left out of place were today's Daily Prophet, still lying on the bed, and on top of it, the piece of broken mirror.**

**Harry moved across the room, slid the mirror fragment off today's Prophet, and unfolded the newspaper. He had merely glanced at the headline when he had taken the rolled-up paper from the delivery owl early that morning and thrown it aside, after noting that it said nothing about Voldemort. Harry was sure that the Ministry was leaning on the Prophet to suppress news about Voldemort. **

"That's stupid!" Colin said "People should know about You-Know-Who."

**It was only now, therefore, that he saw what he had missed.**

**Across the bottom half of the front page a smaller headline was set over a picture of Dumbledore striding along, looking harried:**

**DUMBLEDORE – THE TRUTH AT LAST?**

**Coming next week, the shocking story of the flawed genius considered by many to be the greatest wizard of his generation. Striping away the popular image of serene, silver-bearded wisdom, Rita Skeeter **

"Arguh!" Ginny groaned

"Stupid cow" Seamus muttered.

**reveals the disturbed childhood, the lawless youth, the life-long feuds, and the guilty secrets that Dumbledore carried to his grave, WHY was the man tipped to be the Minister of Magic content to remain a mere headmaster? WHAT was the real purpose of the secret organization known as the Order of the Phoenix? HOW did Dumbledore really meet his end?**

**The answers to these and many more questions are explored in the explosive new biography, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, by Rita Skeeter, **

"That book is full of rubbish" Terry commented

**exclusively interviewed by Berry Braithwaite, page 13, inside.**

**Harry ripped open the paper and found page thirteen. **

"Oh please no! I don't want to hear this crap" Neville groaned with Ginny nodding in agreement. Cho looked up from the book unsure if she should read or not, but slowly with no objections she continued reading.

**The article was topped with a picture showing another familiar face: a woman wearing jeweled glasses with elaborately curled blonde hair, her teeth bared in what was clearly supposed to be a winning smile, wiggling her fingers up at him. Doing his best to ignore this nauseating image, Harry read on.**

**In person, Rita Skeeter is much warmer and softer than her famously ferocious quill-portraits might suggest.**

"Whoever wrote this is got hit in the head as a child" Seamus said

**Greeting me in the hallway of her cozy home, she leads me straight into the kitchen for a cup of tea, a slice of pound cake and, it goes without saying, a steaming vat of freshest gossip.**

**"Well, of course, Dumbledore is a biographer's dream," says Skeeter. "Such a long, full life. I'm sure my book will be the first of very, very many."**

**Skeeter was certainly quick off the mark. Her nine-hundred-page book was completed in a mere four weeks after Dumbledore's mysterious death in June. I ask her how she managed this superfast feat.**

"Cause she makes it all up!" Padma cried

**Oh, when you've been a journalist as long as I have, working to a deadline is second nature. I knew that the Wizarding world was clamoring for the full story and I wanted to be the first to meet that need."**

**I mention the recent, widely publicized remarks of Elphias Doge, Special Advisor to the Wizengamot and longstanding friend of Albus Dumbledore's, that "Skeeter's book contains less fact than a Chocolate Frog card."**

**Skeeter throws back her head and laughs.**

**"Darling Dodgy! I remember interviewing him a few years back about merpeople rights, bless him. Completely gaga, seemed to think we were sitting at the bottom of Lake Windermere, kept telling me to watch out for trout."**

**And yet Elphias Doge's accusations of inaccuracy have been echoed in many places. Does Skeeter really feel that four short weeks have been enough to gain a full picture of Dumbledore's long and extraordinary life?**

**"Oh, my dear," beams Skeeter, rapping me affectionately across the knuckles, "you know as well as I do how much information can be generated by a fat bag of Galleons, a refusal to hear the word 'no,' and a nice sharp Quick-Quotes Quill! People were queuing to dish the dirt on Dumbledore anyway. Not everyone thought he was so wonderful, you know – he trod on an awful lot of important toes. **

"That is true," Terry said; Dumbledore's eccentric ways got a lot of people on edge.

**But old Dodgy Doge can get off his high hippogriff, because I've had access to a source most journalists would swap their wands for, one who has never spoken in public before and who was close to Dumbledore during the most turbulent and disturbing phase of his youth."**

**The advance publicity for Skeeter's biography has certainly suggested that there will be shocks in store for those who believe Dumbledore to have led a blameless life. **

" No one is blameless" Luna said softly

**What were the biggest surprises she uncovered, I ask?**

**"Now, come off it. Betty, I'm not giving away all the highlights before anybody's bought the book!" laughs Skeeter. "But I can promise that anybody who still thinks Dumbledore was white as his beard is in for a rude awakening! Let's just say that nobody hearing him rage against You-Know-Who would have dreamed that he dabbled in the Dark Arts himself in his youth! **

"I doubt that" Seamus said encouragingly, but it didn't improve the doubt that everyone had on Dumbledore's true character.

**And for a wizard who spent his later years pleading for tolerance, he wasn't exactly broad-minded when he was younger! Yes, Albus Dumbledore had an extremely murky past, not to mention that very fishy family, which he worked so hard to keep hushed up."**

**I ask whether Skeeter is referring to Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, whose conviction by the Wizengamot for misuse of magic caused a minor scandal fifteen years ago.**

**"Oh, Aberforth is just the tip of the dung heap," laughs Skeeter. "No, no, I'm talking about much worse than a brother with a fondness for fiddling about with goats, worse even than the Muggle-maiming father – Dumbledore couldn't keep either of them quiet anyway, they were both charged by the Wizengamot. No, it's the mother and the sister that intrigued me, and a little digging uncovered a**

**positive nest of nastiness – but, as I say, you'll have to wait for chapters nine to twelve for full details. All I can say now is, it's no wonder Dumbledore never talked about how his nose got broken."**

**Family skeletons notwithstanding, does Skeeter deny the brilliance that led to Dumbledore's many magical discoveries?**

**"He had brains," she concedes, "although many now question whether he could really take full credit for all of his supposed achievements. As I reveal in chapter sixteen, Ivor Dillonsby claims he had already discovered eight uses of dragon's blood when Dumbledore 'borrowed' his papers."**

"Ok I'm sure _that_ is not true" Seamus encouraged once more and this time everyone nodded in agreement with him.

**But the importance of some of Dumbledore's achievements cannot, I venture, be denied. What of his famous defeat of Grindelwald?**

**"Oh, now, I'm glad you mentioned Grindelwald," says Skeeter with such a tantalizing smile. "I'm afraid those who go dewy-eyed over Dumbledore's spectacular victory must brace themselves for a bombshell – or perhaps a Dungbomb. Very dirty business indeed. All I'll say is, don't be so sure that there really was a spectacular duel of legend. After they've read my book, people may be forced to conclude that Grindelwald simply conjured a white handkerchief from the end of his wand and came quietly!"**

"What!" everyone shouted outraged. That couldn't be true!

**Skeeter refuses to give any more away on this intriguing subject, so we turn instead to the relationship that will undoubtedly fascinate her readers more than any other.**

**"Oh yes," says Skeeter, nodding briskly, "I devote an entire chapter to the whole Potter-Dumbledore relationship.**

"And that chapter is going to be rubbish!" Seamus said with everyone nodding in agreement.

**It's been called unhealthy, even sinister.**

"What's that supposed to mean!" cried Ginny her face turning the same shade as her hair. If Rita Skeeter was in the room right then Ginny would have hexed her into next week.

**Again, your readers will have to buy my book for the whole story, but there is no question that Dumbledore took an unnatural interest in Potter from the word go. Whether that was really in the boy's best interests – well, we'll see. It's certainly an open secret that Potter has had a most troubled adolescence."**

**I ask whether Skeeter is still in touch with Harry Potter, whom she so famously interviewed last year: a breakthrough piece in which Potter spoke exclusively of his conviction that You-Know-Who had returned.**

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**Oh, yes, we've developed a closer bond," says Skeeter. "Poor Potter has few real friends,**

"Sure and I'm a pink unicorn!" Dennis cried making everyone smile.

**and we met at one of the most testing moments of his life – the Triwizard Tournament. I am probably one of the only people alive who can say that they know the real Harry Potter."**

Most people in the room scoffed.

"She doesn't know a thing about Harry" said Neville

**Which leads us neatly to the many rumors still circulating about Dumbledore's final hours. Does Skeeter believe that Potter was there when Dumbledore died?**

**"Well, I don't want to say too much – it's all in the book – but eyewitnesses inside Hogwarts castle saw Potter running away from the scene moments after Dumbledore fell, jumped, or was pushed. Potter later gave evidence against Severus Snape, a man against whom he has a notorious grudge. Is everything as it seems? **

"Is she blaming Harry for Dumbledore's murder?" Terry asked flabbergasted, everyone looked equally shocked.

"Yes, she is" Luna said with redness in her cheeks.

**That is for the Wizarding community to decide – once they've read my book."**

**On that intriguing note, I take my leave. There can be no doubt that Skeeter has quilled an instant bestseller. Dumbledore's legion of admirers, meanwhile, may well be trembling at what is soon to emerge about their hero.**

**Harry reached the bottom of the article, but continued to stare blankly at the page. Revulsion and fury rose in him like vomit; he balled up the newspaper and threw it, with all his force, at the wall, where it joined the rest of the rubbish heaped around his overflowing bin.**

**He began to stride blindly around the room, opening empty drawers and picking up books only to replace them on the same piles, barely conscious of what he was doing, as random phrases from Rita's article echoed in his head: An entire chapter to the whole Potter-Dumbledore relationship ... It's been called unhealthy, even sinister ... He dabbled in the Dark Arts himself in his youth ... I've had access to a source most journalists would swap their wands for...**

**"Lies!" Harry bellowed, and through the window he saw the next-door neighbor, who had paused to restart his lawn mower, look up nervously.**

**Harry sat down hard on the bed. The broken bit of mirror danced away from him; he picked it up and turned it over in his fingers, thinking, thinking of Dumbledore and the lies with which Rita Skeeter was defaming him ...**

"Don't think about that article Harry" Ernie told the book making many people give him strange looks, He did realize it was just a book, right?

**A flash of brightest blue. Harry froze, his cut finger slipping on the jagged edge of the mirror again. He had imagined it, he must have done. He glanced over his shoulder, but the wall was a sickly peach color of Aunt Petunia's choosing: There was nothing blue there for the mirror to reflect. He peered into the mirror fragment again, and saw nothing but his own bright green eye looking back at him.**

**He had imagined it, there was no other explanation; imagined it, because he had been thinking of his dead headmaster. If anything was certain, it was that the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore would never pierce him again.**

"Do you think that it really was Dumbledore?" Hannah asked, but no one answered. After a moment of silence Cho spoke up asking if anyone wanted to read next.

"ME!" shouted both Creevy brothers.

"Let Colin go first" Ginny said and Colin took the book and smiled.


	4. The Dursleys Departing

"_The Dursleys Departing" _ read Colin "Who are the Dursleys?"

"I think its Harry's aunt, uncle and cousin" Ginny answered making everyone's face turn sour.

"Well at least their leaving" Neville muttered.

**The sound of the front door slamming echoed up the stairs and a voice roared, "Oh! You!"**

Everyone frowned at this.

"He has a name!" Ginny cried.

**Sixteen years of being addressed thus left Harry in no doubt when his uncle was calling, nevertheless, he did not immediately respond. He was still at the narrow fragment in which, for a split second, he had thought he saw Dumbledore's eye. It was not until his uncle bellowed, "BOY!" that Harry got slowly out of bed and headed for the bedroom door, pausing to add the piece of broken mirror to the rucksack filled with things he would be taking with him**.

"I'm not liking these Dursleys" Dennis said

"Very rude" Cho added in agreement

"Full of Wardquels" Luna commented causing many faces to look at Luna quizzically all wondering what were Wardquels, but all too afraid to ask.

**You took you time!" roared Vernon Dursley when Harry appeared at the top of the stairs, "Get down here. I want a word!"**

**Harry strolled downstairs, his hands deep in his pants pockets. When he searched the living room he found all three Dursleys. They were dressed for packing; Uncle Vernon in an old ripped-up jacket and Dudley, Harry's, large, blond, muscular cousin, in his leather jacket.**

"**Yes?" asked Harry.**

"**Sit down!" said Uncle Vernon. Harry raised his eyebrows. "Please!" **

**added Uncle Vernon, wincing slightly as though the word was sharp in his throat.**

"Really he can't even say please!" Hannah said gawking at how poor Mr. Vernon Dursley's manners were.

**Harry sat. He though he knew what was coming. His uncle began to pace up and down, Aunt Petunia and Dudley, following his movement with anxious expressions. Finally, his large purple face crumpled with concentration. Uncle Vernon stopped in front of Harry and spoke.**

"He is not a very handsome person either" Ernie commented causing people to snort in agreement.

**"I've changed my mind," he said.**

**"What a surprise," said Harry.**

**"Don't you take that tone—" began Aunt Petunia in a shrill voice, but Vernon Dursley waved her down**

**"It's all a lot of claptrap," said Uncle Vernon, glaring at Harry with piggy little eyes. "I've decided I don't believe a word of it. We're staying put, we're not going anywhere."**

"Where are they going?" Dennis asked

"It probably has something to do about protecting them from You-Know-Who" Neville answered.

**Harry looked up at his uncle and felt a mixture of exasperation and amusement. Vernon Dursley had been changing his mind every twenty four hours for the past four weeks, packing and unpacking and repacking the car with every change of heart.**

"He's very dubious person, isn't he" Seamus mused.

**Harry's favorite moment had been the one when Uncle Vernon, unaware the Dudley had added his dumbbells to his case since the last time it been repacked, had attempted to hoist it back into the boot and collapsed with a yelp of pain and much swearing.**

Everyone laughed at this.

"**According to you," Vernon Dursley said, now resuming his pacing up and down the living room, "we – Petunia, Dudley, and I – are in danger. From – from –"**

"**Some of 'my lot' right?" said Harry**

**"Well I don't believe it," repeated Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt in front of Harry again. "I was awake half the night thinking it all over, and I believe it's a plot to get the house."**

"Are they kidding me?" Ginny said and after noticing everyone's confused looks she explained "Sirius already left him a house"

**"The house?" repeated Harry. "What house?"**

**"This house!" shrieked Uncle Vernon, the vein his forehead starting to pulse. "Our house! House prices are skyrocketing around here! You want us out of the way and then you're going to do a bit of hocus pocus and before we know it the deeds will be in your name and –"**

Everyone couldn't help, but think that the Dursleys weren't very bright people.

**"Are you out of your mind?" demanded Harry. "A plot to get this house? Are you actually as stupid as you look?"**

"Yes" answered Luna making everyone laugh causing Luna to smile happily with her cheeks turning a soft pink.

**"Don't you dare -!" squealed Aunt Petunia, but again Vernon waved her down. Slights on his personal appearance were it seemed as nothing to the danger he had spotted.**

**"Just in case you've forgotten," said Harry, "I've already got a house my godfather left me one. So why would I want this one? All the happy memories?"**

**There was silence. Harry thought he had rather impressed his uncle with this argument.**

**"You claim," said Uncle Vernon, starting to pace yet again, "that this Lord Thing –"**

**"—Voldemort," said Harry impatiently, "and we've been through this about a hundred times already. This isn't a claim, it's fact. Dumbledore told you last year, and Kingsley and Mr. Weasley –"**

**Vernon Dursley hunched his shoulders angrily, and Harry guessed that his uncle was attempting to ward off recollections of the unannounced visit, a few days into Harry's summer holidays, of two fully grown wizards. The arrival on the doorstep of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley had come as a most unpleasant shock to the Dursleys. Harry had to admit, however that as Mr. Weasley had once demolished half of the living room, his reappearance could not have been expected to delight Uncle Vernon.**

"When did dad do that?" Ginny asked her head facing upward to the ceiling, but the note didn't come with her explanation. So instead she thought back and realizing that during the summer of starting her third year it seemed to be the only time that the Weasleys ever came to pick up Harry and now Ginny was envious she had so badly wanted to go with them, but her Mom wouldn't allow it.

**"—Kingsley and Mr. Weasley explained it all as well," Harry pressed on remorselessly, "Once I'm seventeen, the protective charm that keeps me safe will break, and that exposes you as well as me. The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage I'd come and try to rescue you."**

"Would he rescue them?" Dennis asked.

"I think Harry could be the only one to answer that question." Said Ernie

"Yeah, but I think Harry would. Harry has that certain hero image. Added Neville and Ginny couldn't help, but agree with him.

**Uncle Vernon's and Harry's eyes met. Harry was sure that in that instant they were both wondering the same thing. Then Uncle Vernon walked on and Harry resumed, "You've got to go into hiding and the Order wants to help. You're being offered serious protection, the best there is."**

**Uncle Vernon said nothing but continued to pace up and down. Outside the sun hung low over the privet hedges. The next door neighbor's lawn mower stalled again.**

**"I thought there was a Ministry of Magic?" asked Vernon Dursley abruptly.**

**"There is," said Harry, surprised.**

**"Well, then, why can't they protect us? It seems to me that, as innocent victims, guilty of nothing more than harboring a marked man, we ought to qualify for government protection!"**

Everyone scoffed at this doubting that the Durlseys were ever 'innocent victims'.

**Harry laughed; he could not help himself. It was so very typical of his uncle to put his hopes in the establishment, even within this world that he despised and mistrusted.**

**"You heard what Mr. Weasley and Kingsley said," Harry replied.**

**"We think the Ministry has been infiltrated."**

**Uncle Vernon strode back to the fireplace and back breathing so strongly that his great black mustache rippled his face still purple with concentration.**

**"All right," he said. Stopping in front of Harry get again. "All right, let's say for the sake of argument we accept this protection. I still don't see why we can't have that Kingsley bloke."**

"They like Kingsley?" Ginny asked appalled.

"I'm surprised they like any wizard or witch" Terry said remembering Vernon's words.

**Harry managed not to roll his eyes, but with difficulty. This question had also been addressed half a dozen times.**

**"As I've told you," he said through gritted teeth, "Kingsley is protecting the Mug – I mean, your Prime Minister."**

**"Exactly – he's the best!" said Uncle Vernon, **

"What makes you think you need the best?" Cho snapped very annoyed with Vernon Dursley.

"He seems very big- headed, doesn't he?" Dennis commented

"Full of Wardquels" Luna said once more.

**pointing at the blank television screen. The Dursleys had spotted Kingsley on the news, walking along the Muggle Prime Minister as he visited a hospital. This, and the fact that Kingsley had mastered the knack of dressing like a Muggle, not to mention a certain reassuring something in his slow, deep voice, had caused the Dursleys to take to Kingsley in a way that they had certainly not done with any other wizard, although it was true that they had never seen him with earring in.**

"What is a television?" Hannah asked

"A screen that shows moving pictures and… you know what, never mind" Dennis mumbled.

"Where's Hermione when you need her" Ginny muttered watching Hannah's face turning even more confused.

**"Well, he's taken," said Harry. "But Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle are more than up to the job –"**

"Poor Hestia and Dedalus" Seamus whispered

**"If we'd even seen CVs…" began Uncle Vernon, but Harry lost patience. Getting to his feet, he advanced on his uncle, not pointing at the TV set himself.**

**"These accidents aren't accidents – the crashed and explosions and derailments and whatever else has happened since we last watched the news. People are disappearing and dying and he's behind it – Voldemort. I've told you this over and over again, he kills Muggles for fun. Even the fogs – they're caused by dementors, and if you can't remember what they are, ask your son!"**

**Dudley's hands jerked upward to tower his mouth. With his parents' and Harry's eyes upon him, he slowly lowered them again and asked, "There are… more of them?"**

"Dementors?" Ernie questioned

"Harry saved his cousin from dementors during the fifth year" Ginny explained

**"More?" laughed Harry. "More than the two that attacked us, you mean? Of course there are hundreds, maybe thousands by this time, seeing as they feed off fear and despair—"**

**"All right, all right," blustered Vernon Dursley. "You've made your point –"**

**"I hope so," said Harry, "because once I'm seventeen, all of them – Death Eaters, Dementors, maybe even Inferi – which means dead bodies enchanted by a Dark wizard – will be able to find you and will certainly attack you. And if you remember the last time you tried to outrun wizards, I think you'll agree you need help."**

**There was a brief silence in which the distant echo of Hagrid smashing down a wooden front door seemed to reverberate through the intervening years. **

"Huh?" Colin said "When did that happen?"

With that everyone looked up to see if a note would fall down, but no luck this time.

**Aunt Petunia was looking at Uncle Vernon; Dudley was staring at Harry. Finally Uncle Vernon blurted out, "But what about my work? What about Dudley's school? I don't suppose those things matter to a bunch of layabout wizards –"**

Everyone scoffed at this.

**"Don't you understand?" shouted Harry. "They will torture and kill you like they did my parents!"**

Everyone looked down and depression filled in the room. People remembered hearing the story over and over and all they thought about was awe and amazement of how Harry Potter lived. They never thought of the fact that Harry's parents died and how it must be terrible story to hear, for Harry.

**"Dad," said Dudley in a loud voice, "Dad – I'm going with these Order people."**

"Wow Dudley is finally talking sense!" Ginny cried with everyone nodding in agreement.

**"Dudley," said Harry, "for the first time in your life, you're talking sense."**

Some looked at Ginny who was now blushing at the similarities between her and Harry.

**He knew the battle was won. If Dudley was frightened enough to accept the Order's help, his parents would accompany him. There could be no question of being separated from their Duddykins. Harry glanced at the carriage clock on the mantelpiece.**

"Duddykins?" Seamus questioned making everyone snort; Luna had a wispy smile on her face as if the name held a secret meaning to her.

**"They'll be here in about five minutes, he said, and when none of the Dursleys replied, he left the room. The prospect of parting—probably forever – from his aunt, uncle, and cousin was one that he was able to contemplate quite cheerfully but there was nevertheless a certain awkwardness in the air. What did you say to one another at the end of sixteen years' solid dislike?**

"Sixteen years?" Hannah said frowning.

"That sounds awful" Cho commented placing her hand on her chest.

**Back in his bedroom, Harry fiddled aimlessly with his rucksack then poked a couple of owl nuts through the bats of Hedwig's cage. They fell with dull thuds to the bottom where she ignored them.**

**"We're leaving soon, really soon," Harry told her. "And then you'll be able to fly again."**

"Harry is so nice to his owl" Hannah cooed making everyone turn to Hannah, who with the new sudden attention blushed darkly.

"Well it's true" Neville said trying to help Hannah causing few to smirk knowingly while others thought none of it and let Colin continue reading.

**The doorbell rang. Harry hesitated, then headed back out of his room and downstairs. It was too much to expect Hestia and Dedalus to cope with the Dursleys on their own.**

**"Harry Potter!" squeaked an excited voice, the moment Harry had opened the door; a small man in a mauve top hat that was sweeping him a deep bow. "An honor as ever!"**

Everyone smiled at the man's behavior

**"Thanks, Dedalus," said Harry, bestowing a small and embarrassed smile upon the dark haired Hestia. "It's really good of you to do this… They're through here, my aunt and uncle and cousin…"**

**"Good day to you, Harry Potter's relatives!" said Dedalus happily striding into the living room. **

**The Dursleys did not look at all happy to be addressed thus; Harry half expected another change of mind.**

Everyone frowned at this. It should more proof about the Dursleys's shame of being related to Harry all because he was a wizard. How Medieval of them.

**Dudley shrank neared to his mother at the sight of the witch and wizard.**

"Seems that Duddykins had some bad experiences with wizards" Seamus jeered making everyone snicker at the thought.

"Poor Duddykins" Padma mocked

**"I see you are packed and ready. Excellent! The plan, as Harry has told you, is a simple one," said Dedalus, pulling an immense pocket watch out of his waistcoat and examining it. "We shall be leaving before Harry does. Due to the danger of using magic in your house –Harry being still underage it could provide the Ministry with an excuse to arrest him –**

"Arrest him?" Hannah asked "But it's only four days until his birthday. I couldn't they at least let Harry slide since it's so close to his birthday?"

"Remember Hannah You-Know-Who is getting control of the Ministry" Ernie said to his friend.

"So it's back to being anti- Potter" Seamus grumbled feeling a little guilty for not believing in Harry the first time.

**we shall be driving, say, ten miles or so before Disapparating to the safe location we have picked out for you. You know how to drive, I take it?" He asked Uncle Vernon politely.**

" I have feeling the Dursleys aren't going to like this" Dennis said

"Why?" asked Terry

"All muggles know how to drive."

**"Know how to –? Of course I ruddy well know how to drive!" spluttered Uncle Vernon.**

**"Very clever of you, sir, very clever. I personally would be utterly bamboozled by all those buttons and knobs," said Dedalus. He was clearly under the impression that he was flattering Vernon Dursley, who was visibly losing confidence in the plan with every word Dedalus spoke.**

**"Can't even drive," he muttered under his breath, his mustache rippling indignantly, but fortunately neither Dedalus nor Hestia seemed to hear him.**

"See?" Dennis said trying to prove his point.

"We get it Dennis. All muggles no how to _dive_." Said Seamus smirking.

"It's drive! Not dive!" Dennis cried in frustration.

"Whatever"

**"You, Harry," Dedalus continued, "will wait here for your guard. There has been a little change in the arrangements –"**

"**What d'you mean?" said Harry at once. "I thought Mad-Eye was going to come and take me by Side Along-Apparition?"**

**"Can't do it," said Hestia tersely, "Mad-Eye will explain."**

"Good they won't fall into the Ministry" Terry said, but that still didn't mean Harry was safe. They all knew You-Know-Who knew about the plan all thanks to Snape!

**The Dursleys, who had listened to all of this with looks of utter incomprehension on their faces, jumped as a loud voice screeched, "Hurry up!" Harry looked all around the room before realizing the voice had issued from Dedalus's pocket watch.**

**"Quite right, were operating to a very tight schedule," said Dedalus nodding at his watch and tucking it back into his waist coat. "We are attempting to time your departure from the house with your family's Disapparition, Harry thus the charm breaks the moment you all head for safety." He turned to the Dursleys, "Well, are we all packed and ready to go?"**

**None of them answered him. Uncle Vernon was still staring appalled at the bulge in Dedalus's waistcoat pocket.**

" Why is he even looking there?" Seamus asked, snickers came from the Creevy brothers

"Seamus!" Ginny cried getting up to slap Seamus on the head.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"Good" Ginny replied returning back to her seat satisfied.

**"Perhaps we should wait outside in the hall, Dedalus," murmured Hestia. She clearly felt that it would be tactless for them to remain the room while Harry and the Dursleys exchanged loving, possibly tearful farewells.**

**"There's no need," Harry muttered, but Uncle Vernon made any further explanation unnecessary by saying loudly,**

**"Well, this is good-bye then boy."**

"Boy" scoffed Ginny I mean he had a name you know.

"Good. Bye" Neville said stressing out the words ready for the unlikeable Durlseys to leave.

**He swung his right arm upward to shake Harry's hand, but at the last moment seemed unable to face it, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome.**

"Can't even shake hands" Hannah scoffed. Luna frowned the Dursleys seemed very cold to Harry and she began wonder how Harry became so he had Quairlds in his ears? Yes that explained it.

**"Ready, Duddy?" asked Petunia, fussily checking the clasp of her handbag so as to avoid looking at Harry altogether.**

**Dudley did not answer but stood there with his mouth slightly ajar, reminding Harry a little of the giant, Grawp.**

"Gawp?" Cho questioned

"Hagrids half- brother" Ginny explained shortly. Everyone looked at her hoping for more information, but she only looked at Colin. "Read please".

**"Come along, then," said Uncle Vernon.**

**He had already reached the living room door when Dudley mumbled, "I don't understand."**

"That's nothing new!" Seamus snorted.

**"You're leaving, so you have to walk out of the room and into the car."**

**"What don't you understand, popkin?" asked Petunia looking up at her son.**

**Dudley raised a large, hamlike hand to point at Harry.**

**"Why isn't he coming with us?**

Everyone looked a little shocked they all thought that Dudley would be a bully to Harry but….

"Maybe Dudley isn't so bad?" Neville said unsurely

"Maybe" Ginny said.

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia froze when they stood staring at Dudley as though he had just expressed a desire to become a ballerina.**

Most people snorted.

**"What?" said Uncle Vernon loudly.**

**"Why isn't he coming too?" asked Dudley.**

**"Well, he—doesn't want to," said Uncle Vernon, turning to glare at Harry and adding, "You don't want to, do you?"**

**"Not in the slightest," said Harry.**

**"There you are," Uncle Vernon told Dudley. "Now come on we're off."**

**He marched out of the room. They heard the front door open, but Dudley did not move and after a few faltering steps Aunt Petunia stopped too.**

**"What now?" barked Uncle Vernon, reappearing in the doorway.**

**It seemed that Dudley was struggling with concepts too difficult to put into words. After several moments of apparently painful internal struggle he said, "But where's he going to go?"**

"He's worried about him!" Hannah said softly with a smile.

"It only took sixteen years!" Seamus replied in the same sweet tone as Hannah making her glare at him.

**Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other. It was clear that Dudley was frightening them. Hestia Jones broke the silence.**

**"But… surely you know where your nephew is going?" she asked looking bewildered.**

**"Certainly we know," said Vernon Dursley. "He's off with some of your lot, isn't he? Right, Dudley, let's get in the car, you heard the man, we're in a hurry."**

"Your lot?" questioned Terry who looked quite offended.

**Again, Vernon Dursley marched as far as the front door, but Dudley did not follow.**

**"Off with some of our lot?"**

**Hestia looked outraged. Harry had met this attitude before witches and wizards seemed stunned that his closest living relatives took so little interest in the famous Harry Potter.**

**"It's fine," Harry assured her. "It doesn't matter, honestly."**

**"Doesn't matter?" repeated Hestia, her voice rising considerably.**

**"Don't these people realize what you've been through? What danger you are in? The unique position you hold in the hearts of the anti Voldemort movement?"**

"Probably not" Seamus said making everyone frown even more.

**"Er –no, they don't," said Harry. "They think I'm a waste of space, actually but I'm used to –"**

All the D.A looked angry,_ A_ _waste of space?_

**"I don't think you're a waste of space"**

**If Harry had not seen Dudley's lips move, he might not have believed it. As it was, he stared at Dudley for several seconds before accepting that it must have been his cousin who had spoken; for one thing, Dudley had turned red. Harry was embarrassed and astonished himself****_._**

"Well Dudley is a little decent" Cho muttered

**"Well... er… thanks, Dudley."**

**Again, Dudley appeared to grapple with thoughts too unwieldy for expression before mumbling, "You saved my life,"**

"And he is grateful for that" Luna said smiling.

**"Not really," said Harry. "It was your soul the dementor would have taken…"**

Some snorted at this.

"Harry….." Ginny mumbled shaking her head.

**He looked curiously at his cousin. They had had virtually no contact during this summer or last, as Harry had come back to Privet Drive so briefly and kept to his room so much. It now dawned on Harry, however, that the cup of cold tea on which he had trodden that morning might not have been a booby trap at all. Although rather touched he was nevertheless quite relieved that Dudley appeared to have exhausted his ability to express his feelings. After opening his mouth once or twice more, Dudley subsided into scarlet-faced silence.**

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears. Hestia Jones gave her an approving look that changed to outrage as Aunt Petunia ran forward and embraced Dudley rather than Harry.**

"What!" Ginny cried as everyone around her looked outraged.

"What a woman!" Cho muttered angrily

**"S-so sweet, Dudders…" she sobbed into his massive chest. "S-such a lovely b-boy… s-saying thank you…"**

"He didn't say thank you!" Ginny cried looking a little red in the face.

**"But he hasn't said thank you at all!" said Hestia indignantly. "He only said he didn't think Harry was a waste of space!"**

"Thank You!" cried Ginny thankful for someone feeling the same as her.

"I like Hestia!" Seamus said smiling, she'll show does Dursleys!

**"Yea but coming from Dudley that's like 'I love you,'" said Harry, torn between annoyance and a desire to laugh as Aunt Petunia continued to clutch at Dudley as if he had just saved Harry from a burning building.**

**"Are we going or not?" roared Uncle Vernon, reappearing yet again at the living room door. "I thought we were on a tight schedule!"**

**"Yes –yes, we are," said Dedalus Diggle, who had been watching these exchanged with an air of bemusement and now seemed to pull himself together. "We really must be off. Harry –"**

**He tripped forward and wrung Harry's hand with both of his own.**

**"—good luck. I hope we meet again. The hopes of the Wizarding world rest upon your shoulders."**

"That sound comforting!" Seamus said causing some of the DA to roll their eyes.

**"Oh," said Harry, "right. Thanks."**

**"Farwell, Harry," said Hestia also clasping his hand. "Our thoughts go with you."**

**"I hope everything's okay," said Harry with a glance toward Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

**"Oh I'm sure we shall end up the best of chums," said Diggle slightly, **

Some laughed at this, all of them doubting it.

**waving his hat as he left the room. Hestia followed him.**

**Dudley gently released himself from his mother's clutches and walked toward Harry who had to repress an urge to threaten him with magic. **

Ginny raised her eyebrow.

**Then Dudley held out his large, pink hand.**

**"Blimey, Dudley," said Harry over Aunt Petunia's renewed sobs, "did the dementors blow a different personality into you?"**

**"Dunno," muttered Dudley, "See you, Harry."**

**"Yea …" said Harry, raking Dudley's hand and shaking it. "Maybe. Take care, Big D."**

**Dudley nearly smiled. They lumbered from the room. Harry heard his heavy footfalls on the graveled drive, and then a car door slammed.**

**Aunt Petunia whose face had been buried in her handkerchief looked around at the sound. She did not seem to have expected to find herself alone with Harry. Hastily stowing her wet handkerchief into her pocket, she said, "Well – good-bye" and marched towards the door without looking at him.**

**"Good-bye" said Harry.**

**She stopped and looked back. For a moment Harry had the strangest feeling that she wanted to say something to him; She gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but then, with a little of her head, she hustled out of the room after he husband and son.**

"That's it!" Colin cheered closing the book "Hear you go!" he said as he handed the book to Dennis.

"Wait" Luna said before Dennis could read. "its lunch time".

At this Terry quickly checked his watch to make sure "She's right" he assured causing everyone to stand up and walk out the Room of Requirement.

Dennis pouted as he marked his place in the book and followed the rest of the DA.


	5. The Seven Potters

In the Great Hall, the D.A walked in for lunch, Ginny sat across the table from Neville both thinking of the previous chapters. Ginny wondered what Harry thought of her, she remembered the short time at the Burrow, redness went to her cheeks oh no…..

"Ginny look it's Lavender!" Neville said, pointing to the Lavender Brown, she was in the D.A in fourth year. Ginny made her way to her, feeling the Carrows eyes on her back.

"Hello Lavender" Ginny greeted "Where is Parvati?" she asked

"Sick" Lavender answered frowning.

"We were having D.A just now…" Ginny began.

"D.A?" Lavender whispered excitedly Ginny nodded "Were going to the ROR after lunch wish to join?" Lavender nodded smiling and eating faster.

"Hope Parvati feels better" Ginny said a little more louder, and walked off.

Reaching the ROR everyone gathered, with three new faces. Lavender sat next to Hannah, along with Padma Patil and Michael Corner. Who were all very flushed hearing the story so far, Dennis took the book smiling. "Finally" he whispered then speaking clearly "_The Seven Potters"_

**Harry ran back upstairs to his bedroom, arriving at the window just in time to see the Dursleys' car swinging out of the drive and off up the road. Dedalus's top hat was visible between Aunt Petunia and Dudley in the backseat. The car turned right at the end of Privet Drive, its windows burned scarlet for a moment in the now setting sun, and then it was gone.**

**Harry picked up Hedwig's cage, his Firebolt, and his rucksack, gave his unnaturally tidy bedroom one last sweeping look, and then made his ungainly way back downstairs to the hall, where he deposited cage, broomstick, and bag near the foot of the stairs. The light was fading rapidly, the hall full of shadows in the evening light. It felt most strange to stand here in the silence and know that he was about to leave the house for the last time. Long ago, when he had been left alone while the Dursleys went out to enjoy themselves, the hours of solitude had been a rare treat. Pausing only to sneak something tasty from the fridge,**

"He sneaks food from the fridge?" Ginny asked her face pink, everyone look a little hasty.

** he had rushed upstairs to play on Dudley's computer, or put on the television and flicked through the channels to his heart's content. It gave him an odd, empty feeling remembering those times; it was like remembering a younger brother whom he had lost.**

"That's sort of sad" Colin said

**"Don't you want to take a last look at the place?" he asked Hedwig, who was still sulking with her head under her wing.**

"Is Harry feeling okay?" Seamus asked

"I don't know…" Michael answered.

Across the room Lavender was whispering to Padma.

"I don't think she cares that owl" Lavender whispered. Padma nodded.

"**We'll never be here again. Don't you want to remember all the good times? I mean, look at this doormat. What memories …**

"He's cracked" Seamus stated, making most snigger.

"Don't say that!" Ginny snapped.

"Well he…." Neville began but, one look at Ginny he stopped.

**Dudley throw up on it after I saved him from the dementors … Turns out he was grateful after all, can you believe it? …**

"See he had a point!" Ginny explained.

"Sure Ginny" Terry said. Making Ginny pout.

"Always new Harry had a crazy side" Michael whispered to himself.

**And last summer, Dumbledore walked through that front door …"**

**Harry lost the thread of his thoughts for a moment and Hedwig did nothing to help him retrieve it, but continued to sit with her head under her wing. Harry turned his back on the front door.**

"**And under here, Hedwig" – Harry pulled open a door under the stairs – "is where I used to sleep! **

Everything was silent everyone was silently fuming.

"WHAT!" Ginny screamed.

"He slept under the stairs?" Neville questioned, Luna looked a little red.

Colin and Dennis opened their mouths to a comical 'o' how could their hero slept under the stairs!

**You never knew me then – Blimey, it's small, I'd forgotten …"**

**Harry looked around at the stacked shoes and umbrellas remembering how he used to wake every morning looking up at the underside of the staircase, which was more often than not adorned with a spider or two.**

"He slept with spiders" Lavender said crawling in her seat, Padma frowned.

**Those had been the days before he had known anything about his true identity; before he had found out how his parents had died or why such strange things often happened around him. But Harry could still remember the dreams that had dogged him, even in those days:**

"He didn't even know he was a wizard?" Cho whispered to Terry Boot.

"Poor Harry" Luna cooed.

**confused dreams involving flashes of green light and once – Uncle Vernon had nearly crashed the car when Harry had recounted it – a flying motorbike …**

"Flying motorbike?" Seamus asked smiling.

"Maybe it's in the book!" Neville offered

"Want to bet?" Seamus countered

"Sure 10 galleons!" Neville said

"Deal!"

Dennis snickered already reading the next sentences.

**There was a sudden, deafening roar from somewhere nearby. Harry straightened up with a jerk and smacked the top of his head on the low door frame. Pausing only to employ a few of Uncle Vernon's choicest swear words, he staggered back into the kitchen, clutching his head and staring out of the window into the back garden.**

**The darkness seemed to be rippling, the air itself quivering. Then, one by one, figures began to pop into sight as their Disillusionment Charms lifted. Dominating the scene was Hagrid, wearing a helmet and goggles and sitting astride an enormous motorbike with a black sidecar attached. **

"Told you!" Neville said, holding out his hand. Seamus cursed softly handing Neville his money; he pocketed the money with a smirk.

**All around him other people were dismounting from brooms and, in two cases, skeletal, black winged horses.**

"What?" most asked never hearing anything like the creatures.

"Thestrals" Luna answered

The seventh years nodded, Colin and Dennis were getting told in hushed and fast whispers.

**Wrenching open the back door, Harry hurtled into their midst. There was a general cry of greeting as Hermione flung her arms around him, Ron clapped his back.**

"Ron! Hermione!" some cheered

"Finally!" Seamus cried.

**Wrenching open the back door, Harry hurtled into their midst. There was a general cry of greeting as Hermione flung her arms around him, Ron clapped him on the back, and Hagrid said, "All righ', Harry? Ready fer the off?"**

"**Definitely," said Harry, beaming around at them all. "But I wasn't expecting this many of you!"**

"**Change of plan," growled Mad-Eye, who was holding two enormous bulging sacks, and whose magical eye was spinning from darkening sky to house to garden with dizzying rapidity. "Let's get undercover before we talk you through it."**

**Harry led them all back into the kitchen where, laughing and chattering, they settled on chairs, sat themselves upon Aunt Petunia's gleaming work surfaces, or leaned up against her spotless appliances; Ron, long and lanky; Hermione, her bushy hair tied back in a long plait; Fred and George, grinning identically; Bill, badly scarred and long-haired; Mr. Weasley, kind-faced, balding, his spectacles a little awry; Mad-Eye, battle-worn, one-legged, his bright blue magical eye whizzing in its socket; Tonks, whose short hair was her favorite shade of bright pink; Lupin, grayer, more lined; Fleur, slender and beautiful, with her long silvery blonde hair; Kingsley, bald and broad-shouldered; Hagrid, with his wild hair and beard, standing hunchbacked to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling; and Mundungus Fletcher, small, dirty, and hangdog, with his droopy beady hound's eyes and matted hair. **

"Well they are all flattering descriptions! Terry mocked. Lavender and Padma were scrounging their noses at Mundungus.

"Well he tells it how it is!" Seamus said laughing.

"I wonder how he describes Ginny" Lavender squealed making Ginny blush,

**Harry's heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: He felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom he had tried to strangle the last time they had met.**

Everyone looked oddly at the book.

"Okay…." Dennis said softly flipping the page.

"**Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?" he called across the room.**

"**He can get along without me for one night," said Kingsley, "You're more important."**

"**Harry, guess what?" said Tonks from her perch on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glistened there.**

Lavender gasped "Who did she married!"

"Professor Lupin" Ginny answered making Padma and Lavender giggle. Michael smiled remembering the Professor.

"**You got married?" Harry yelped, looking from her to Lupin.**

"**I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry, it was very quiet."**

"Awwww" Lavender sighed

Padma and Ginny frowned a wedding should be special.

"**That's brilliant, congrat –"**

"**All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later," roared Moody over the hubbub, and silence fell in the kitchen. Moody dropped his sacks at his feet and turned to Harry. "As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable offense to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you. **

**Absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that already. What he's really done is to stop you getting out of here safely."**

"Mother's charm?" questioned Terry everyone looked above their heads, watching the note fall on Terry's lap.

_The reason Harry survived during that Halloween is when Lily Evans died for Harry it gave him a love shield. By keeping him at the closest blood relative (Petunia Dursley) would protect him. _

The D.A looked at each other in shock, the Ravenclaws first to recover made mental notes most never heard of such magic. Colin and Dennis had their mouths open a gap, their eyes wide has galleons. "Whoa!" Colin whispered.

"I'd never heard magic like that." Said Lavender

"Me neither" said Padma, everyone nodded their heads.

"Love, the greatest magic of all." Whispered Luna more to herself than others.

**"Second problem: You're underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you."**

"What's the Trace?" asked Colin looking at the older students.

Terry was about to open his mouth when Michael stopped him.

"Maybe it will be explained."

**The Trace, the Trace!" said Mad-Eye impatiently. "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about underage magic!-**

"Told you" said Michael smugly.

"No one disagreed with you Michael." Said Cho, making the boy blush lightly, Cho quickly turned away at the floor feeling heat on her face.

**If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters."**

"How is Harry going to get out of this one?" said Padma to Lavender. All the D.A looked worried, especially Ginny who sat her face on her knees, her red hair covering most of her face.

"**We can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short, Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper."**

"This isn't helping" muttered Hannah softly, Neville had the urge to take her hand but declined it, putting his hand on his lap instead.

**Harry could not help but agree with the unknown Thicknesse.**

"Don't think that way Harry!" said Dennis.

"Dennis you do realize you are talking to the book." Whispered Colin to his brother making him blush.

"Well everyone is going to do it some point." Said Dennis and continued reading.

"**So what are we going to do?"**

"**We're going to use the only means of transport left to us, the only ones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."**

Cho and Terry smiled slightly having the same thoughts of an Auror.

**Harry could see flaws in this plan; however, he held his tongue to give Mad-Eye the chance to address them.**

"Flaws? What flaws?" asked Colin, the Ravenclaws frown trying to figure it out. Ginny said nothing knowing the whole plan she decided to let them work it out.

"See now who's talking the book now?" whispered Dennis to his brother smirking, Colin only scowled.

"Oh I get it!" said surprisingly Neville, the D.A looked at him. Ginny smiled slightly.

"What is it?" Asked Padma, Neville only smiled.

"Read and we'll find out." The Ravenclaws frowned but, said nothing.

**Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or" – Moody gestured around the pristine kitchen – "you no longer call this place home. You and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never going to live together again, correct?"**

**Harry nodded.**

"**So this time, when you leave, there'll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. We're choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen.**

"Couldn't Harry Apperated after he turns seventeen?" asked Seamus. Ginny only shook her head.

"He hasn't taken his Apperation test yet." Answered Ginny.

"**The one thing we've got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight.**

The D.A snorted.

"Yeah thanks to Professor Sour- Grapes Snape." Muttered Seamus _(Ha-ha! AVMP reference!)_

The room atmosphere had lightened increasingly, the D.A began laughing.

"Sour- Grapes Snape?" questioned Lavender holding back a laugh.

"Shut it." He told her blushing slightly.

**We've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: They think you're not leaving until the thirtieth. However, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we can't rely on him getting the date wrong; he's bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in case. So, we've given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at them. They all look like they could be the place we're going to hide you, they've all got some connection with the Order: my house, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel's – you get the idea."**

"Yeah, that's a good thing. They won't know which one Harry is going." Said Hannah brightly.

"Yeah but, they still haven't fixed the flaw." Said Neville.

At this Terry and Padma's eyes widen. "Oh I get it." Said Padma, "Me too" Terry said, the rest of the D.A looked at them.

"You aren't going to tell us are you?" questioned Cho irritated that she had not figured it out yet.

Both shook their heads.

"**Yeah," said Harry, not entirely truthfully, because he could still spot a gaping hole in the plan.**

"**You'll be going to Tonks's parents. Once you're within the boundaries of the protective enchantments we've put on their house you'll be able to use a Portkey to the Burrow. Any questions?"**

"**Er – yes," said Harry. "Maybe they won't know which of the twelve secure houses I'm heading for at first, but won't it be sort of obvious once" – he performed a quick headcount – "fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks's parents?"**

The D.A now knew what was missing. "Oh" said Colin and Dennis at the same time. Cho nodded thinking how to solve this solution along with the other Ravenclaws.

"Polyjuice Potion" answered Cho, feeling satisfaction that she thought of it before the others, for she was very good at potions.

"What?" asked Neville and few others.

"Polyjuice Potion, is one of the most difficult of potions, using something that belonged to a certain person, you can transform into the person for one hour." Answered Cho.

"Cool" chorused the Colin and Dennis.

"So they are going to change into Harry?" asked Seamus, Cho nodded.

"Genius" he whispered to himself.

"**Ah," said Moody, "I forgot to mention the key point. Fourteen of us won't be flying to Tonks's parents. There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house."**

"It is a very good plan." Said Terry Cho and Padma nodded.

"Too bad Professor _Sour- Grapes Snape_ ruined it." Said Lavender casting a look at Seamus who scowled at her.

"On a bright side." Said Hannah "They don't know about the Polyjuice Potion."

"A small comfort but, true." Said Michael

**From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a flask of what looked like mud. There was no need for him to say another word; Harry understood the rest of the plan immediately.**

"**No!" he said loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen. "No way!"**

"Is he always going to be a noble git?" asked Neville, shocking some people in the room, only Ginny smiled.

"Harry is always going to be a noble git." She said.

"**I told them you'd take it like this," said Hermione with a hint of complacency.**

**"If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives - !"**

"—**because it's the first time for all of us," said Ron.**

"What?" asked Cho.

"Come on, with their end of the year adventures." Said Michael "I'm sure they ran into some dangerous stuff."

"**This is different, pretending to be me –"**

**"Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred earnestly. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."**

The D.A laughed at this statement.

**Harry did not smile.**

"**You can't do it if I don't cooperate, you need me to give you some hair."**

"**Well, that's the plan scuppered," said George. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."**

"**Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we've got no chance," said Fred.**

The D.A went into laughter again.

**"Funny," said Harry, "really amusing."**

"**If it has to come to force, then it will," growled Moody, his magical eye now quivering a little in its socket as he glared at Harry. "Everyone here's overage, Potter, and they're all prepared to take the risk."**

**Mundungus shrugged and grimaced; the magical eye swerved sideways to glance at him out of the side of Moody's head.**

Ginny growled at that. Why was he on that mission in the first place?

While taking a few spaces away Ginny, the D.A turned sour this was the source of information that told Snape then to Voldemort.

"**Let's have no more arguments. Time's wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now."**

"**But this is mad, there's no need –"**

"There is plenty of need." Said Neville softly.

**"No need!" snarled Moody. "With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we're lucky he'll have swallowed the fake bait and he'll be planning to ambush you on the thirtieth, but he'd be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping an eye out, it's what I'd do. They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother's charm holds, but it's about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can't split himself into seven."**

**Harry caught Hermione's eye and looked away at once.**

What those that mean?" asked Terry everyone turned to Ginny who shrugged.

"They didn't tell their plans on defeating You- Know Who not even the Order." Answered Ginny

"Murder tears the sole" Whispered Luna, most of the D.A stared at her.

"That's nonsense Luna." Lavender told her, Luna didn't respond she only looked down at Dennis.

"Read please."

"**So, Potter – some of your hair, if you please."**

**Harry glanced at Ron, who grimaced at him in a just-do-it sort of way.**

"**Now!" barked Moody.**

**With all of their eyes upon him, Harry reached up to the top of his head, grabbed a hank of hair, and pulled.**

"**Good," said Moody, limping forward as he pulled the stopper out of the flask of potion. "Straight in here, if you please."**

**Harry dropped the hair into the mudlike liquid. The moment it made contact with its surface, the potion began to froth and smoke, then, all at once, it turned a clear, bright gold.**

"Pretty color" commented Lavender.

"Of course Harry has one of the purest soles I know." Said Luna smiling. Ginny couldn't help but, smile back at Luna.

"**Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry," said Hermione,**

The boys roared in laughter, some girls wrinkled their noses.

"I don't think she meant it by that." Said Ginny.

**before catching sight of Ron's raised eyebrows, blushing slightly, and saying, "Oh, you know what I mean – Goyle's potion tasted like bogies."**

"Wait, when have they used Polyjuice Potion?" questioned Seamus. Everyone looked in the ceiling waiting. Seamus grumbled when no note fell.

"No!" cried Colin "I want to hear a 'Golden Trio' Adventure!" but, no note fell making both Creevy brothers sigh. "Ask him myself then" grumbled Colin.

"**Right then, fake Potters line up over here, please," said Moody.**

**Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Fleur lined up in front of Aunt Petunia's gleaming sink.**

"**We're one short," said Lupin.**

"Bet it's Mundungus" said Lavender.

"**Here," said Hagrid gruffly, and he lifted Mundungus by the scruff of the neck and dropped him down beside Fleur, who wrinkled her nose pointedly and moved along to stand between Fred and George instead.** **"I'm a said, I'd sooner be a protector," said Mundungus.**

**"Shut it," growled Moody. "As I've already told you, you spineless worm, any Death Eaters we run into will be aiming to capture Potter, not kill him. Dumbledore always said You-Know-Who would want to finish Potter in person. It'll be the protectors who have got the most to worry about, the Death Eaters'll want to kill them."**

"Until the Polyjuice wears off." Mumbled Terry

**Mundungus did not look particularly reassured, but Moody was already pulling half a dozen eggcup-sized glasses from inside his cloak, which he handed out, before pouring a little Polyjuice Potion into each one.**

**"Altogether, then … "**

**Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus drank. All of them gasped and grimaced as the potion hit their throats; At once, their features began to bubble and distort like hot wax. Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward; Ron, Fred, and George were shrinking; their hair was darkening, Hermione's and Fleur's appearing to shoot backward into their skulls.**

**Moody, quite unconcerned, was now loosening the ties of the large sacks he had brought with him. When he straightened up again, there were six Harry Potters gasping and panting in front of him.**

"That would be an interesting experience " said Ernie, making some jump forgetting about him for he had been quite through most of the chapter.

**Fred and George turned to each other and said together, "Wow – we're identical!"**

The D.A laughed.

"**I dunno, though, I think I'm still better-looking," said Fred, examining his reflection in the kettle.**

Ginny smiled slightly thinking of her twin brothers.

"**Bah," said Fleur, checking herself in the microwave door, "Bill, don't look at me – I'm 'ideous."**

Most people frowned. "Why is she even there?" asked Padma.

"She is getting married to my brother Bill." Answered Ginny.

"Oh" said most girls.

"Nice, half- veela" commented Seamus making Lavender slap him against the head.

"Oi! Woman!"

"**Those whose clothes are a bit roomy, I've got smaller here," said Moody, indicating the first sack, "and vice versa. Don't forget the glasses, there's six pairs in the side pocket. And when you're dressed, there's luggage in the other sack."**

"Amazing they thought of everything!" said Hannah

Ernie nodded in agreement.

**The real Harry thought that this might just be the most bizarre thing he had ever seen, and he had seen some extremely odd things. He watched as his six doppelgangers rummaged in the sacks, pulling out sets of clothes, putting on glasses, stuffing their own things away. He felt like asking them to show a little more respect for privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity, clearly more at ease with displaying his body than they would have been with their own.**

Some cringed, trying to imagining how they would feel if it were them. While other snickered.

"**I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo," said Ron, looking down at his bare chest.**

The D.A laughed at this.

"Of course I was" said Ginny

"Poor Rosella" said Lavender " She's going to be crushed."

"**Harry, your eyesight really is awful," said Hermione, as she put on glasses.**

"Of course those glasses were just for show." Said Seamus rolling his eyes.

**Once dressed, the fake Harrys took rucksacks and owl cages, each containing a stuffed snowy owl, from the second sack.**

"**Good," said Moody, as at last seven dressed, bespectacled, and luggage-laden Harrys faced him. "The pairs will be as follows: Mundungus will be traveling with me, by broom –"**

Ginny grimanced at that statement remembering the outcome.

"I don't like that pairing" said Padma, everyone else agreeing.

"**Why'm I with you?" grunted the Harry nearest the back door.**

"**Because you're the one that needs watching," growled Moody, and sure enough, his magical eye did not waver from Mundungus as he continued, "Arthur and Fred –"**

"**I'm George," said the twin at whom Moody was pointing. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?"**

"He can't even stop joking then!" said Ginny shaking her head.

"They were a laugh your brothers" Seamus commented, Ginny nodded her head.

"**Sorry, George –"**

"**I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really –"**

"**Enough messing around!" snarled Moody. "The other one – George or Fred or whoever you are – you're with Remus. Miss Delacour –"**

"**I'm taking Fleur on a thestral," said Bill. "She's not that fond of brooms."**

**Fleur walked over to stand beside him, giving him a soppy, slavish look that Harry hoped with all his heart would never appear on his face again.**

"Bet it's the same look he gives Ginny." Seamus commented. Making everyone laugh minus Michael and Cho who grimanced.

"Shut it you!"

"**Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by thestral –"**

**Hermione looked reassured as she answered Kingsley's smile; Harry knew that Hermione too lacked confidence on a broomstick. "Which leaves you and me, Ron!" said Tonks brightly, knocking over a mug tree as she waved at him.**

**Ron did not look quite as pleased as Hermione.**

"**An' you're with me, Harry. That all righ'?" said Hagrid, looking a little anxious. "We'll be on the bike, brooms an' thestrals can't take me weight, see. Not a lot o' room on the seat with me on it, though, so you'll be in the sidecar."**

"That's good" said Hannah "I know Harry and Hagrid are good friends so, Hagrid will protect Harry very well."

**That's great," said Harry, not altogether truthfully.**

"**We think the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom," said Moody, **

"True, sine he such an excellent flier" said Terry.

**who seemed to guess how Harry was feeling. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he's never mentioned before, so if we do run into any Death Eaters, we're betting they'll choose one of the Potters who looks at home on a broomstick. All right then," he went on, tying up the sack with the fake Potters' clothes in it and leading the way back to the door, "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking. Come on …"**

**Harry hurried to gather his rucksack, Firebolt, and Hedwig's cage and followed the group to the dark back garden.**

**On every side broomsticks were leaping into hands; Hermione had already been helped up onto a great black thestral by Kingsley, Fleur onto the other by Bill. Hagrid was standing ready beside the motorbike, goggles on.**

"**Is this it? Is this Sirius's bike?"**

"If Sirius is dead where does the bike go?" asked Ernie

"It's in my dad's garage." Answered Ginny.

"**The very same," said Hagrid, beaming down at Harry. "An' the last time yeh was on it, Harry, I could fit yeh in one hand!"**

"Aw" the girls cooed.

"So? Hagrid could probably do it now?" said Seamus making Lavender and most girls roll their eyes.

**Harry could not help but feel a little humiliated as he got into the sidecar. It placed him several feet below everybody else: Ron smirked at the sight of him sitting there like a child in a bumper car.**

Some of the D.A snickered.

**Harry stuffed his rucksack and broomstick down by his feet and rammed Hedwig's cage between his knees. He was extremely uncomfortable.**

**"Arthur's done a bit o' tinkerin'," said Hagrid, quite oblivious to Harry's discomfort. He settled himself astride the motorcycle, which creaked slightly and sank inches into the ground. "It's got a few tricks up its sleeves now. Tha' one was my idea." He pointed a thick finger at a purple button near the speedometer.**

"I wonder what it does?" questioned Colin.

"Hopefully you won't find out." Said Hannah.

**"Please be careful, Hagrid." said Mr. Weasley, who was standing beside them, holding his broomstick. "I'm still not sure that was advisable and it's certainly only to be used in emergencies."**

**"All right, then." said Moody. "Everyone ready, please. I want us all to leave at exactly the same time or the whole point of the diversion's lost."**

**Everybody motioned their heads.**

**"Hold tight now, Ron," said Tonks, and Harry saw Ron throw a forcing, guilty look at Lupin before placing his hands on each side of her waist. **

"Poor Ron" said Michael.

**Hagrid kicked the motorbike into life: It roared like a dragon, and the sidecar began to vibrate.**

"**Good luck, everyone," shouted Moody. "See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. **

Ginny flinched at that.

**On the count of three. One … two .. THREE."**

At this the D.A had worried plastid on their faces, Hannah took hold of Neville's arm, while Lavender and Padma huddled together, and most boys were stiff, staring at the floor. Colin gripped Dennis's shoulder lightly. Luna went putting a comforting arm on Ginny.

**There was a great roar from the motorbike, and Harry felt the sidecar give a nasty lurch. He was rising through the air fast, his eyes watering slightly, hair whipped back off his face. Around him brooms were soaring upward too; the long black tail of a thestral flicked past. His legs, jammed into the sidecar by Hedwig's cage and his rucksack, were already sore and starting to go numb. So great was his discomfort that he almost forgot to take a last glimpse of number four Privet Drive. By the time he looked over the edge of the sidecar he could no longer tell which one it was.**

**And then, out of nowhere, out of nothing, they were surrounded. **

"No" whispered Hannah, of course the D.A knew Harry was okay but, they couldn't help but, feel worried. Ginny, put her hands to her face.

**At least thirty hooded figures, suspended in midair, formed a vast circle in the middle of which the Order members had risen, oblivious –**

**Screams, a blaze of green light on every side: Hagrid gave a yell and the motorbike rolled over. Harry lost any sense of where they were. Streetlights above him, yells around him, he was clinging to the sidecar for dear life. Hedwig's cage, the Firebolt, and his rucksack slipped from beneath his knees –**

**"No – HELP!"**

**The broomstick spun too, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A second's relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched and fell to the floor of the cage.**

"No!" Lavender cried, she remembered Hedwig she was such a beautiful owl.

"Poor Harry" Padma whispered.

**"No – NO!"**

**The motorbike zoomed forward; Harry glimpsed hooded Death Eaters scattering as Hagrid blasted through their circle.**

**"Hedwig – Hedwig –"**

Some girl's eyes watered a little.

**But the owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy on the floor of her cage. He could not take it in, and his terror for the others was paramount. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a mass of people moving, flares of green light, two pairs of people on brooms soaring off into the distance, but he could not tell who they were –**

**"Hagrid, we've got to go back, we've got to go back!" he yelled **

"No Harry you can't go back." Said Hannah

**over the thunderous roar of the engine, pulling out his wand, ramming Hedwig's cage into the floor, refusing to believe that she was dead. "Hagrid, TURN AROUND!"**

**"My job's ter get you there safe, Harry!" bellow Hagrid, and he opened the throttle.**

**Stop – STOP!" Harry shouted, but as he looked back again two jets of green light flew past his left ear: Four Death Eaters had broken away from the circle and were pursuing them, aiming for Hagrid's broad back. Hagrid swerved, but the Death Eaters were keeping up with the bike; more curses shot after them, and Harry had to sink low into the sidecar to avoid them. Wriggling around he cried, "Stupefy!" and a red bolt of light shot from his own wand, cleaving a gap between the four pursuing Death Eaters as they scattered to avoid it.**

"Bloody-." Began Seamus but, stopped he tried imagining himself in Harry's shoes.

**"Hold on, Harry, this'll do for 'em!" roared Hagrid, and Harry looked up just in time to see Hagrid slamming a thick finger into a green button near the fuel gauge.**

**A wall, a solid black wall, erupted out of the exhaust pipe. Craning his neck, Harry saw it expand into being in midair. **

"That's cool" said Colin softly.

Some only nodded their heads.

**Three of the Death Eaters swerved and avoided it, but the fourth was not so lucky; He vanished from view and then dropped like a boulder from behind it, his broomstick broken into pieces. One of his fellows slowed up to save him, but they and the airborne wall were swallowed by darkness as Hagrid leaned low over the handlebars and sped up.**

**More Killing Curses flew past Harry's head from the two remaining Death Eaters' wands; they were aiming for Hagrid. Harry responded with further Stunning Spells: Red and green collided in midair in a shower of multicolored sparks, and Harry thought wildly of fireworks, and the Muggles below who would have no idea what was happening –**

"Fireworks?" cried Ginny "Fireworks Harry, you're in that position and your thinking about fireworks!" Luna rubbed her back soothingly.

"He really showed be paying attention" Ernie whispered making sure Ginny could not hear.

**"Here we go again, Harry, hold on!" yelled Hagrid and he jabbed at a second button. This time a great net burst from the bike's exhaust, but the Death Eaters were ready for it. Not only did they swerve to avoid it, but the companion who had slowed to save their unconscious friend had caught up. He bloomed suddenly out of the darkness and now three of them were pursuing the motorbike, all shooting curses after it.**

**"This'll do it, Harry, hold on tight!" yelled Hagrid, and Harry saw him slam his whole hand onto the purple button beside the speedometer.**

Colin's eyes lit up, he'll get to hear about the button.

**With an unmistakable bellowing roar, dragon fire burst from the exhaust, white-hot and blue, and the motorbike shot forward like a bullet with a sound of wrenching metal. Harry saw the Death Eaters swerve out of sight to avoid the deadly trail of flame, and at the same time felt the sidecar sway ominously: Its metal connections to the bike had splintered with the force of acceleration.**

**"It's all righ', Harry!" bellowed Hagrid, now thrown flat onto the back by the surge of speed; nobody was steering now, and the sidecar was starting to twist violently in the bike's slipstream.**

"Oh dear" whispered Hannah.

"Don't worry Harry can fix that easily." Neville whispered back to her.

**"I'm on it, Harry, don' worry!" Hagrid yelled, and from inside his jacket pocket he pulled his flowery pink umbrella.**

"No!" everyone yelled they knew Hagrid wasn't the best at magic.

**"Hagrid! No! Let me!"**

**"REPARO!"**

**There was a deafening bang and the sidecar broke away from the bike completely. **

"Great" muttered Terry. Ginny let out a small moan she didn't hear this part of the story!

"Don't worry guys Harry survived." Dennis told the D.A but, nothing could help their mood.

**Harry sped forward, propelled by the impetus of the bike's flight, then the sidecar began to lose height –**

**In desperation Harry pointed his wand at the sidecar and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

"Good thinking." Said Michael.

**The sidecar rose like a cork, unsteerable but at least still airborne. He had but a split second's relief, however, as more curses streaked past him: The three Death Eaters were closing in.**

**"I'm comin', Harry!" Hagrid yelled from out of the darkness, but Harry could feel the sidecar beginning to sink again: Crouching as low as he could, he pointed at the middle of the oncoming figures and yelled, "Impedimenta!"**

"Now the sidecar is going to fall." Grumbled Cho.

"Well he had to defend himself." Countered Terry but, Cho didn't reply.

**The jinx hit the middle Death Eater in the chest; For a moment the man was absurdly spread-eagled in midair as though he had hit an invisible barrier: One of his fellows almost collided with him –**

"Nice shot" said Seamus

**Then the sidecar began to fall in earnest, and the remaining Death Eater shot a curse so close to Harry that he had to duck below the rim of the car, knocking out a tooth on the edge of his seat –**

**"I'm comin', Harry, I'm comin'!"**

**A huge hand seized the back of Harry's robes and hoisted him out of the plummeting sidecar; Harry pulled his rucksack with him as he dragged himself onto the motorbike's seat and found himself back-to-back with Hagrid. **

"That's good" said Hannah meekly.

**As they soared upward, away from the two remaining Death Eaters, Harry spat blood out of his mouth, pointed his wand at the falling sidecar, and yelled, "Confringo!"**

**He knew a dreadful, gut-wrenching pang for Hedwig as it exploded; **

Lavender let out a sniffle "Poor owl" she whispered.

**the Death Eater nearest it was blasted off his broom and fell from sight; his companion fell back and vanished.**

**"Harry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," moaned Hagrid, "I shouldn'ta tried ter repair it meself – yeh've got no room –"**

**"It's not a problem, just keep flying!" Harry shouted back, as two more Death Eaters emerged out of the darkness, drawing closer.**

**As the curses came shooting across the intervening space again, Hagrid swerved and zigzagged: Harry knew that Hagrid did not dare use the dragon-fire button again, with Harry seated so insecurely. Harry sent Stunning Spell after Stunning Spell back at their pursuers, barely holding them off. He shot another blocking jinx at them: The closest Death Eater swerved to avoid it and his hood slipped, and by the red light of his next Stunning Spell, Harry saw the strangely blank face of Stanley Shunpike – Stan –**

"What?" said everyone.

"I thought he was in Azkaban" said Dennis.

"Must have broken out" said Padma.

**"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled.**

"He shouldn't have used that spell." Said Cho.

"Why?" asked Neville.

"It's an unusual move and in the…. Graveyard he used that spell on Voldemort that's what it said on the Quibbler anyway." Said Cho now looking at the ground.

"Oh" some said softly.

**"That's him, it's him, it's the real one!"**

"See" said Cho softly.

**The hooded Death Eater's shout reached Harry even above the thunder of the motorbike's engine: Next moment, both pursuers had fallen back and disappeared from view.**

**"Harry, what's happened?" bellowed Hagrid. "Where've they gone?"**

**"I don't know!"**

**But Harry was afraid: The hooded Death Eater had shouted, "It's the real one!"; how had he known? He gazed around at the apparently empty darkness and felt its menace. Where were they?**

**He clambered around on the seat to face forward and seized hold of the back of Hagrid's jacket.**

**"Hagrid, do the dragon-fire thing again, let's get out of here!"**

**"Hold on tight, then, Harry!"**

**There was a deafening, screeching roar again and the white-blue fire shot from the exhaust: Harry felt himself slipping backwards off what little of the seat he had. Hagrid flung backward upon him, barely maintaining his grip on the handlebars –**

**"I think we've lost 'em Harry, I think we've done it!" yelled Hagrid.**

"I doubt that" said Terry to his housemates making sure Ginny didn't hear.

**But Harry was not convinced; Fear lapped at him as he looked left and right for pursuers he was sure would come. . . . Why had they fallen back? One of them had still had a wand. . . . It's him. . . it's the real one. . . . They had said it right after he had tried to Disarm Stan. . . .**

**"We're nearly there, Harry, we've nearly made it!" shouted Hagrid.**

"Good, now go faster" said Hannah.

**Harry felt the bike drop a little, though the lights down on the ground still seemed remote as stars.**

**Then the scar on his forehead burned like fire: **

"What!" everyone cried, then looked up seeing the paper burn to Hannah's lap slightly surprised she took the paper, with a slight horrified expression on her face.

_When You- Know-Who is near Harry's scar burns it also burns when You- Know- Who shows high emotion. And starting the fifth year Harry had been able to go into You- Know Who's mind. _

"Bloody Hell" chorused Seamus and Michael.

"That's terrible!" Lavender squealed. The D.A looked troubled, they thought of their leader Harry it was horrible having him look into You- Know- Who's mind.

"But it doesn't change anything." Hannah stated firmly, the D.A nodded in agreement.

**as a Death Eater appeared on either side of the bike, two Killing Curses missed Harry by millimeters, cast from behind –**

**And then Harry saw him. Voldemort was flying like smoke on the wind, without broomstick or thestral to hold him, his snake-like face gleaming out of the blackness, his white fingers raising his wand again –**

**Hagrid let out a bellow of fear and steered the motorbike into a vertical dive. Clinging on for dear life, Harry sent Stunning Spells flying at random into the whirling night. He saw a body fly past him and knew he had hit one of them, but then he heard a bang and saw sparks from the engine; the motorbike spiraled through the air, completely out of control –**

**Green jets of light shot past them again. Harry had no idea which way was up, which down: His scar was still burning; he expected to die at any second. A hooded figure on a broomstick was feet from him, he saw it raise its arm –**

**"NO!"**

**With a shout of fury Hagrid launched himself off the bike at the Death Eater; **

"NO!" cried the Gryffindor's minus Ginny who knew Hagrid was okay.

**to his horror, Harry saw both Hagrid and the Death Eater, falling out of sight, their combined weight too much for the broomstick –**

**Barely gripping the plummeting bike with his knees, Harry heard Voldemort scream, "Mine!"**

**It was over: He could not see or hear where Voldemort was; he glimpsed another Death Eater swooping out of the way and heard, "Avada –"**

"No Harry!" cried Colin. The girls huddled together, and the boys remained fixed waiting.

**As the pain from Harry's scar forced his eyes shut, his wand acted of its own accord.**

"What!" everyone cried.

"Is that even possible?" asked Padma

"Maybe it involves the connection between you know-." Said Terry pointing to his head.

"Maybe" said Padma.

happens."

**He felt it drag his hand around like some great magnet, saw a spurt of golden fire through his half-closed eyelids, heard a crack and a scream of fury. The remaining Death Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, "NO!" Somehow, Harry found his nose an inch from the dragon-fire button. He punched it with his wand-free hand and the bike shot more flames into the air, hurtling straight toward the ground.**

**"Hagrid!" Harry called, holding on to the bike for dear life. "Hagrid – Accio Hagrid!"**

"That will bring Harry to Hagrid" said Cho rubbing her forehead.

**The motorbike sped up, sucked towards the earth. Face level with the handlebars, Harry could see nothing but distant lights growing nearer and nearer: He was going to crash and there was nothing he could do about it. Behind him came another scream, "Your wand, Selwyn, give me your wand!"**

**He felt Voldemort before he saw him. Looking sideways, he stared into the red eyes and was sure they would be the last thing he ever saw: Voldemort preparing to curse him once more –**

**And then Voldemort vanished**

"Huh?" said Colin.

"I think Harry went inside the protections." Answered Ginny.

"Good danger is over." Said Hannah

The D.A relaxed slightly .

**Harry looked down and saw Hagrid spread-eagled on the ground below him. He pulled hard at the handlebars to avoid hitting him, groped for the brake, but with an earsplitting, ground trembling crash, he smashed into a muddy pond.**

"That's it!" cried Dennis. "Who wants it?"

"I'll take it" said Padma. "But, shouldn't we get to dinner." At this Ginny checked her clock "She's right let's go guys."


	6. Fallen Warrior

**A/N: Sorry didn't realize Cho was a year older than Harry! But, let's  
pretend she is the same age as Harry. Hope you enjoy and please review~  
RosalindRae **

Dinner was very silent for the D.A members, Ginny stared at her plate, her mind blank. She turned her head seeing Colin and Dennis eating as fast as they can. Ginny looked around more seeing the familiar Cho and Terry discussing things in hushed tones,

Ginny knew that everyone in D.A was excited to hear more of the Golden Trio's adventure but, Ginny was unsure if she wanted to hear that the danger her brother, and Harry would encounter, she cared about both of them deeply and Hermione was a good friend and she disliked hearing about her getting hurt in this book too.

Ginny grimanced thinking about what could possibly happen. Ginny shook her head taking another bite. A tap on the shoulder made Ginny look up seeing Neville next to her cocking his head indicating to go. Nodding her and Neville walked out of the Great Hall.

Finally the D.A reassembled again in the ROR, Padma took the book, flipping to the next page.

_"The Fallen Warrior"_ read Padma.

"This chapter doesn't sound better than the last one" said Hannah softly.

"Wondered who died." Said Colin.

Ginny grimaced thinking of Mad- Eye.

**"Hagrid?"**

"Oh dear" said Padma softly

"Don't worry guys Hagrid is here at Hogwarts remember so he's fine." Assured Neville some began to relax.

**Harry struggled to raise himself out of the debris of metal and leather that surrounded him; his hands sank into inches of muddy water as he tried to stand. He could not understand where Voldemort had gone and expected him to swoop out of the darkness at any moment. Something hot and wet was trickling down his chin and from his forehead. He crawled out of the pond and stumbled toward the great dark mass on the ground that was Hagrid.**

**"Hagrid? Hagrid, talk to me –"**

**But the dark mass did not stir.**

**"Who's there? Is it Potter? Are you Harry Potter?"**

"Is this an Order person or a Death Eater?" asked Michael

"It's Tonk's parents so it's good." Answered Ginny.

**Harry did not recognize the man's voice. Then a woman shouted. "They've crashed. Ted! Crashed in the garden!"**

**Harry's head was swimming.**

**"Hagrid," he repeated stupidly, and his knees buckled.**

**The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back on what felt like cushions, with a burning sensation in his ribs and right arm. His missing tooth had been regrown. The scar on his forehead was still throbbing.**

**"Hagrid?"**

"One track- mind he has." Said Seamus.

"You would be too if you didn't know your friend was okay." Said Michael.

Seamus grimaced remembering Dean who was now in hiding. He knew exactly how that felt.

**He opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on a sofa in an unfamiliar, lamplit sitting room. His rucksack lay on the floor a short distance away, wet and muddy. A fair-haired, big-bellied man was watching Harry anxiously**

** "Hagrid's fine, son," said the man, "the wife's seeing to him now. How are you feeling? Anything else broken? I've fixed your ribs, your tooth, and your arm. I'm Ted, by the way, Ted Tonks – Dora's father."**

Some of the D.A were startled by Harry's injuries.

**Harry sat up too quickly. Lights popped in front of his eyes and he felt sick and giddy.**

**"Voldemort –"**

**"Easy, now," said Ted Tonks, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder and pushing him back against the cushions. **

**"That was a nasty crash you just had.-**

"I bet it was with a broken arm, rib and-." Started Terry.

"We get it Terry." Said Padma, looking at Ginny who seemed oddly pale.

**What happened, anyway? Something go wrong with the bike? Arthur Weasley overstretch himself again, him and his Muggle contraptions?"**

"I wish it was that something went wrong with the bike." Muttered Ernie.

**"No," said Harry, as his scar pulsed like an open wound. "Death Eaters, loads of them – we were chased –"**

**"Death Eaters?" said Ted sharply. "What d'you mean, Death Eaters? I thought they didn't know you were being moved tonight, I thought –"**

**"They knew," said Harry.**

"Yep thanks to Professor Sour- Grapes Snape" said Dennis.

"Okay guys really?" asked Seamus his face red.

Not answering, Padma continued reading.

**Ted Tonks looked up at the ceiling as though he could see through it to the sky above.**

That's weird…." Muttered Lavender.

**"Well, we know our protective charms hold, then, don't we? They shouldn't be able to get within a hundred yards of the place in any direction."**

**Now Harry understood why Voldemort had vanished; it had been at the point when the motorbike crossed the barrier of the Order's charms. He only hoped they would continue to work: He imagined Voldemort, a hundred yards above them as they spoke, looking for a way to penetrate what Harry visualized as a great transparent bubble.**

The D.A laughed at this.

"I guess it would like that." Mumbled Cho.

**He swung his legs off the sofa; he needed to see Hagrid with his own eyes before he would believe that he was alive. He had barely stood up, however, when a door opened and Hagrid squeezed through it, his face covered in mud and blood, limping a little but miraculously alive.**

**"Harry!"**

**Knocking over two delicate tables and an aspidistra,**

"Hagrid." Ginny scolded softly.

**he covered the floor between them in two strides and pulled Harry into a hug that nearly cracked his newly repaired ribs. "Blimey, Harry, how did yeh get out o' that? I thought we were both goners."**

**"Yeah, me too. I can't believe –"**

**Harry broke off. He had just noticed the woman who had entered the room behind Hagrid.**

**"You!" he shouted, and he thrust his hand into his pocket, but it was empty.**

"Huh?" Dennis asked

"What's happening?" asked Hannah.

Padma sighed, _well if they stopped interrupting we might be able to find out!_ Padma thought irritably

**"Your wand's here, son," said Ted, tapping it on Harry's arm. "It fell right beside you, I picked it up…And that's my wife you're shouting at."**

**"Oh, I'm – I'm sorry."**

**As she moved forward into the room, Mrs. Tonks's resemblance to her sister Bellatrix became much less pronounced: **

"Oh" said Hannah softly. Neville's face paled drastically, his fist curled into fists.

"Wait, when did he meet Bellatrix?" asked Terry.

Shooting a small look at Neville Ginny began to explain " During Harry's fifth year we had to save Sirius, so we had to go to the Ministry but, it was a trap and we met along with a bunch of death eaters including Bellatrix and we fought them until the Order came."

"Did Bellatrix hurt-." Began Dennis but, Neville interrupted.

"Can we continue please?" Padma nodded and continued:

**Her hair was a light 'soft brown and her eyes were wider and kinder. Nevertheless, she looked a little haughty after Harry's exclamation.**

**"What happened to our daughter?" she asked. "Hagrid said you were ambushed; where is Nymphadora?"**

"Nymphadora?" snorted Seamus.

**"I don't know," said Harry. "We don't know what happened to anyone else."**

**She and Ted exchanged looks. A mixture of fear and guilt gripped Harry at the sight of their expressions, if any of the others had died; it was his fault,all his fault. He had consented to the plan, given them his hair . . . **

Ginny rolled her eyes at this, he blames everything on himself.

"Harry it's not your fault." Cho said, at this Ginny narrowed her eyes at her.

"Cho, you do know Harry can't hear you." Said Ginny.

"Of course I know!" Cho snapped

"Then why-." Ginny began but, Michael cut them off.

"Padma read."

**"The Port key," he said, remembering all of a sudden. "We've got to get back to the Burrow and find out – then we'll be able to send you word, or – or Tanks will, once she's –"**

**"Dora will be ok, 'Dromedary," said Ted. "She knows her stuff; she's been in plenty of tight spots with the Auroras. The Port key's through here," he added to Harry. "It's supposed to leave in three minutes, if you want to take it."**

**"Yeah, we do," said Harry. He seized his rucksack, swung it onto his shoulders. "I –"**

**He looked at Mrs. Tanks, wanting to apologize for the state of fear in which he left her and for which he felt so terribly responsible, but no words occurred to him that he did not seem hollow and insincere.**

**"I'll tell Tanks – Dora –**

"I hope Tanks doesn't hear about this." Said Ginny

"Why?" asked Colin.

"She hates being called by her first name." answered Ginny.

"Don't blame her I mean Nymphadora, really?" said Seamus

**to send word, when she . . . Thanks for patching us up, thanks for everything, I –"**

**He was glad to leave the room and follow Ted Tonks along a short hallway and into a bedroom. Hagrid came after them, bending low to avoid hitting his head on the door lintel.**

**"There you go, son. That's the Portkey."**

**Mr. Tonks was pointing to a small, silver-backed hairbrush lying on the dressing table.**

**"Thanks," said Harry, reaching out to place a finger on it, ready to leave.**

**"Wait a moment," said Hagrid, looking around. "Harry, where's Hedwig?"**

"Oh dear." Said Hannah softly

**"She . . . she got hit," said Harry.**

**The realization crashed over him: He felt ashamed of himself as the tears stung his eyes. The owl had been his companion, his one great link with the magical world whenever he had been forced to return to the Dursleys.**

**Hagrid reached out a great hand and patted him painfully on the shoulder.**

**"Never mind," he said gruffly, "Never mind. She had a great old life –"**

**"Hagrid!" said Ted Tonks warningly, as the hairbrush glowed bright blue, and Hagrid only just got his forefinger to it in time.**

**With a jerk behind the navel as though an invisible hook and line had dragged him forward, Harry was pulled into nothingness, spinning uncontrollably, his finger glued to the Portkey as he and Hagrid hurtled away from Mr. Tonks. Second later, Harry's feet slammed onto hard ground and he fell onto his hands and knees in the yard of the Burrow. He heard screams.**

"Screams?" said Hannah and Lavender.

"It's just mum." Answered Ginny.

The two girls sighed in relief "That's good" said Hannah softly.

**Throwing aside the no longer glowing hairbrush, Harry stood up, swaying slightly, and saw Mrs. Weasley and Ginny**

"Ginny it's you!" cried Dennis, making Ginny smile slightly.

"We know Dennis." Saud Colin to his younger brother

** running down the steps by the back door as Hagrid, who had also collapsed on landing, clambered laboriously to his feet.**

**"Harry? You are the real Harry? What happened? Where are the others?" cried Mrs. Weasley.**

**"What d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?" Harry panted.**

**The answer was clearly etched in Mrs. Weasley's pale face.**

"Oh no" said Cho. The D.A minus Ginny stiffened.

"Everyone's going to be okay." Hannah tried to reassure.

"I don't know the chapter title is _Fallen Warrior_" said Terry.

"Maybe it's Hedwig." Colin offered but, his voice sounded unsure.

"It can't be Hedwig died the last chapter." Answered Padma.

"Maybe it'll be-." Began Ernie.

"Let's read, it could be any of them." Said Michael.

**"The Death Eaters were waiting for us," Harry told her, "We were surrounded the moment we took off – they knew it was tonight – I don't know what happened to anyone else, four of them chased us, it was all we could do to get away, and then Voldemort caught up with us –"**

**He could hear the self-justifying note in his voice, the plea for her to understand why he did not know what had happened to her sons, but –**

**"Thank goodness you're all right," she said, pulling him into a hug he did not feel he deserved.**

"Prat" Ginny mumbled she knew mom treated Harry just like one of her sons, why couldn't he just accept that people cared about him too?

**"Haven't go' any brandy, have yeh, Molly?" asked Hagrid a little shakily, "Fer medicinal purposes?"**

Some of the boys snorted at this. While the rest rolled their eyes at Hagrid's statement.

"Sure Hagrid medical purposes." Said Seamus

**She could have summoned it by magic, but as she hurried back toward the crooked house, Harry knew that she wanted to hide her face. He turned to Ginny and she answered his unspoken plea for information at once.**

**"Ron and Tonks should have been back first, but they missed their Portkey, it came back without them," she said, **

The D.A minus Ginny stiffened again remembering the fact that nobody had returned yet.

"Muriel." Ginny mumbled.

**pointing at a rusty oil can lying on the ground nearby. "And that one," she pointed at an ancient sneaker, "should have been Dad and Fred's; they were supposed to be second. You and Hagrid were third and," she checked her watch, "if they made it, George and Lupin ought to be back in about a minute."**

The D.A held their breath, waiting for George and Professor Lupin, would they be fallen warrior?

**Mrs. Weasley reappeared carrying a bottle of brandy, which she handed to Hagrid. He uncorked it and drank it straight down in one.**

**"Mum!" shouted Ginny pointing to a spot several feet away.**

**A blue light had appeared in the darkness: It grew larger and brighter, and Lupin and George appeared, spinning and then falling. **

The D.A let out a sigh of relief, glad it wasn't Professor Lupin and George; however Ginny paled thinking of George's ear.

**Harry knew immediately that there was something wrong: Lupin was supporting George, who was unconscious and whose face was covered in blood.**

"Oh no" all the girls chorused minus Ginny.

"What happened to him?" asked Hannah to Ginny.

"It's in the book." She answered, everyone looked toward Padma who began quickly began reading once more.

**Harry ran forward and seized George's legs. Together, he and Lupin carried George into the house and through the kitchen to the living room, where they laid him on the sofa. As the lamplight fell across George's head, Ginny gasped and Harry's stomach lurched: One of George's ears was missing.**

Colin, Seamus, and Dennis's faces turned green, most people were pale as bed-sheets.

"Poor George." Ernie said softly.

**The side of his head and neck were drenched in wet, shockingly scarlet blood.**

**No sooner had Mrs. Weasley bent over her son that Lupin grabbed Harry by the upper arm and dragged him, none too gently, back into the kitchen, **

"What's Professor Lupin doing to Harry?" asked Colin.

**where Hagrid was still attempting to ease his bulk through the back door.**

**"Oi!" said Hagrid indignantly, "Le' go of him! Le' go of Harry!"**

**Lupin ignored him.**

**"What creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts?" he said, giving Harry a small shake. "Answer me!"**

"Oh, I know Professor Lupin is checking to see if Harry is a spy." Said Terry.

"But Harry isn't a spy!" spoke Ernie.

"I know but, Professor Lupin is probably just trying to be safe."

**Lupin released Harry and fell back against a kitchen cupboard.**

**"Wha' was tha' about?" roared Hagrid.**

**"I'm sorry, Harry, but I had to check," said Lupin tersely. "We've been betrayed. Voldemort knew that you were being moved tonight and the only people who could have told him were directly involved in the plan. You might have been an impostor**

"Say anything about Sour- Grapes Snape and I'm going to Stun you!" hollered Seamus

"We weren't" said Colin slowly, everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh, okay then."

**"So why aren' you checkin' me?" panted Hagrid, still struggling with the door.**

"Because Polyjuice is only designed for human use, Hagrid is half- giant so it would not work." Said Cho.

**"You're half-giant," said Lupin, looking up at Hagrid. "The Polyjuice Potion is designed for human use only."**

Cho smiled smugly at the thought of thinking as a Professor.

**"None of the Order would have told Voldemort we were moving tonight," said Harry. The idea was dreadful to him; he could not believe it of any of them.**

"You need to be careful on who you trust." Said Terry. Remembering about Peter Pettigrew.

**"Voldemort only caught up with me toward the end, he didn't know which one I was in the beginning. If he'd been in on the plan he'd have known from the start I was the one with Hagrid."**

**Voldemort caught up with you?" said Lupin sharply. "What happened? How did you escape?"**

**Harry explained how the Death Eaters pursuing them had seemed to recognize him as the true Harry, how they had abandoned the chase, how they must have summoned Voldemort, who had appeared just before he and Hagrid had reached the sanctuary of Tonks's parents.**

**"They recognized you? But how? What had you done?"**

**"I . . ." Harry tried to remember; the whole journey seemed like a blur of panic and confusion. "I saw Stan Shunpike . . . . You know, the bloke who was the conductor on the Knight Bus? And I tried to Disarm him instead of – well, he doesn't know what he's doing, does he? He must be Imperiused!"**

**Lupin looked aghast.**

**"Harry, the time for Disarming is past! These people are trying to capture and kill you! At least Stun if you aren't prepared to kill!"**

**"We were hundreds of feet up! Stan's not himself, and if I Stunned him and he'd fallen, he'd have died the same as if I'd used Avada Kedavra!**

"Harry does have point." Neville said.

**Expelliarmus saved me from Voldemort two years ago," Harry added defiantly. Lupin was reminding him of the sneering Hufflepuff Zacharias Smith, who had jeered at Harry for wanting to teach Dumbledore's Army how to Disarm.**

The D.A snorted remembering Smith.

"Has anyone asked him about D.A?" asked Neville, looking at the Hufflepuffs.

"I thought of Zacharias wouldn't want to come." Hannah answered.

"I forgot telling Smith, honestly." Answered Ernie

"At dinner remember to ask him." Said Neville, both Hufflepuffs nodded.

"Are you sure he might report us." Terry said he didn't want D.A to be discovered the way it did in the fifth year.

"No he won't, he didn't do it last time, so why would he do it now?" answered Neville, making most people's worries settled accept Terry.

"I don't know, Neville…" began Terry

"Maybe we could do the same thing Hermione did and everyone sign a piece of parchment and charm it just like Hermione." offered Padma.

"I like the idea." said Neville. "Do we all agree?" everyone nodded, along with Cho bitterly remembering Marietta.

"We can work on it, in our common room tonight." Said Terry gesturing to Padma and Cho,

"Padma may we continue with the book, or the Daibltos will begin affect our brains." Luna spoke, making some jump forgetting she was there.

Padma began reading.

**"Yes, Harry," said Lupin with painful restraint, "and a great number of Death Eaters witnessed that happening! Forgive me, but it was a very unusual move then, under the imminent threat of death. Repeating it tonight in front of Death Eaters who either witnessed or heard about the first occasion was close to suicidal!"**

"You know I would probably do Expelliarmus too." Cho said.

**"So you think I should have killed Stan Shunpike?" said Harry angrily.**

**"Of course not," said Lupin, "but the Death Eaters – frankly, most people! – would have expected you to attack back! Expelliarmus is a useful spell, Harry, but the Death Eaters seem to think it is your signature move, and I urge you not to let it become so!"**

**Lupin was making Harry feel idiotic, and yet there was still a grain of defiance inside him.**

**"I won't blast people out of my way just because they're there," said Harry, "That's Voldemort's job."**

"Go Harry!" screamed Colin and Dennis.

"Oi!" cried Seamus "That's my ear drum." for he was sitting right next to the Creevy brothers.

**Lupin's retort was lost: Finally succeeding in squeezing through the door, Hagrid staggered to a chair and sat down; it collapsed beneath him. Ignoring his mingled oaths and apologies, Harry addressed Lupin again.**

**"Will George be okay?"**

At this everyone began to worry forgetting about George's ear.

**All Lupin's frustration with Harry seemed to drain away at the question.**

**"I think so, although there's no chance of replacing his ear, not when it's been cursed off –"**

**There was a scuffling from outside. Lupin dived for the back door; Harry leapt over Hagrid's legs and sprinted into the yard.**

**Two figures had appeared in the yard, and as Harry ran toward them he realized they were Hermione, now returning to her normal appearance, and Kingsley, both clutching a bent coat hanger, Hermione flung herself into Harry's arms, **

"Oh good Hermione's okay." Said Hannah breathlessly.

"Yeah without her Harry and Ron would have died in the first year." Said Neville thinking of the giant three- headed dog, that him and the trio gotten into.

**but Kingsley showed no pleasure at the sight of any of them. Over Hermione's shoulder Harry saw him raise his wand and point it at Lupin's chest.**

**"The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us!"**

**"'Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him,'" said Lupin calmly.**

**Kingsley turned his wand on Harry, but Lupin said, "It's him, I've checked!"**

**"All right, all right!" said Kingsley, stowing his wand back beneath his cloak, "But somebody betrayed us! They knew, they knew it was tonight!"**

**"So it seems," replied Lupin, "but apparently they did not realize that there would be seven Harrys."**

**"Small comfort!" snarled Kingsley. "Who else is back?"**

**"Only Harry, Hagrid, George, and me."**

**Hermione stifled a little moan behind her hand.**

"Aww!" cooed Lavender, making some look at her. "It's obvious she's worried about Ron!"

"I thought you still liked Ron?" questioned Cho.

"I did but, Ron and Hermione should be together."

At this Cho, frowned deeply, and shot a look at Ginny before turning back to Padma.

**"What happened to you?" Lupin asked Kingsley.**

**"Followed by five, injured two, might've killed one," Kingsley reeled off, **

**"Yeah he did," Hermione said. **

Some of the D.A frowned.

"How does she know that?" asked Dennis, receiving no answer, he gestured Padma to continue reading.

**"and we saw You-Know-Who as well, he joined the chase halfway through but vanished pretty quickly. Remus, he can –"**

**"Fly," supplied Harry. "I saw him too, he came after Hagrid and me."**

**"So that's why he left, to follow you!" said Kingsley, "I couldn't understand why he'd vanished. But what made him change targets?"**

**"Harry behaved a little too kindly to Stan Shunpike," said Lupin.**

**"Stan?" repeated Hermione. "But I thought he was in Azkaban?"**

**Kingsley let out a mirthless laugh.**

**"Hermione, there's obviously been a mass breakout which the Ministry has hushed up. Travers's hood fell off when I cursed him, he's supposed to be inside too. But what happened to you, Remus? Where's George?"**

**"He lost an ear," said Lupin.**

**"lost an - ?" repeated Hermione in a high voice.**

**"Snape's work," said Lupin**

**"**What!" cried Ginny. "H-he did t-that!" stuttered Ginny, her face turning red.

"Calm down Ginny, you can't just go to the Headmaster's office and yell at him." Reasoned Padma.

Ginny huffed sitting down, taking deep breaths she knew it was stupid, thing to do.

**Snape?" shouted Harry. "You didn't say –"**

**"He lost his hood during the chase. Sectumsempra was always a specialty of Snape's. I wish I could say I'd paid him back in kind, but it was all I could do to keep George on the broom after he was injured, he was losing so much blood."**

**Silence fell between the four of them as they looked up at the sky. There was no sign of movement; the stars stared back, unblinking, indifferent, unobscured by flying friends. Where was Ron? Where were Fred and Mr. Weasley? Where were Bill, Fleur, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Mundungus?**

**"Harry, give us a hand!" called Hagrid hoarsely from the door, in which he was stuck again. Glad of something to do, Harry pulled him free, the headed through the empty kitchen and back into the sitting room, where Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were still tending to George. Mrs. Weasley had staunched his bleeding now, and by the lamplight Harry saw a clean gaping hole where George's ear had been.**

**"How is he?"**

**Mrs. Weasley looked around and said, "I can't make it grow back, not when it's been removed by Dark Magic. But it could've been so much worse . . . . He's alive."**

**"Yeah," said Harry. "Thank God."**

**"Did I hear someone else in the yard?" Ginny asked.**

**"Hermione and Kingsley," said Harry.**

**"Thank goodness," Ginny whispered. They looked at each other; Harry wanted to hug her, hold on to her; he did not even care much that Mrs. Weasley was there, but before he could act on the impulse, there was a great crash from the kitchen.**

At this Ginny turned very red at this.

"Awww!" cooed Hannah and Lavender along with most girls, in the room. Cho bit her lip, her face not giving away in emotion.

**I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!"**

**Harry had never heard Mr. Weasley shout like that before. He burst into the living room, his bald patch gleaming with sweat, his spectacles askew, Fred right behind him, both pale but uninjured.**

**"Arthur!" sobbed Mrs. Weasley. "Oh thank goodness!"**

**"How is he?"**

**Mr. Weasley dropped to his knees beside George. For the first time since Harry had known him, Fred seemed to be lost for words. He gaped over the back of the sofa at his twin's wound as if he could not believe what he was seeing.**

"You know I think it was harder for Fred then it was for George." Said Ginny.

**Perhaps roused by the sound of Fred and their father's arrival, George stirred.**

**"How do you feel, Georgie?" whispered Mrs. Weasley.**

**George's fingers groped for the side of his head.**

**"Saintlike," he murmured.**

"Uh…" began Colin.

"I think George's mind's been affected." Answered Seamus, Lavender slapped him on the arm "Ouch! Stop it I was just saying."

During this no one noticed the slight smile on Ginny's face.

**"What's wrong with him?" croaked Fred, looking terrified. "Is his mind affected?"**

"See Fred agrees with me." Said Seamus to Lavender who only rolled her eyes.

**"Saintlike," repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. "You see. . . I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"**

The boys began laughing, while girls rolled their eyes.

**Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever. Color flooded Fred's pale face.**

**"Pathetic," he told George. "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?"**

**"Ah well," said George, grinning at his tear-soaked mother. "You'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, Mum."**

"That was their favorite joke." Ginny said smiling.

**He looked around.**

**"Hi, Harry – you are Harry, right?"**

**"Yeah, I am," said Harry, moving closer to the sofa.**

**"Well, at least we got you back okay," said George. "Why aren't Ron and Bill huddled round my sickbed?"**

**"They're not back yet, George," said Mrs. Weasley. George's grin faded. Harry glanced at Ginny and motioned to her to accompany him back outside. As they walked through the kitchen she said in a low voice.**

**"Ron and Tonks should be back by now. They didn't have a long journey; Auntie Muriel's not that far from here."**

**Harry said nothing. He had been trying to keep fear at bay ever since reaching the Burrow, but now it enveloped him, seeming to crawl over his skin, throbbing in his chest, clogging his throat. As they walked down the back steps into the dark yard, Ginny took his hand.**

"Aww." Lavender cooed softly, making Ginny shoot a look at her, only making Lavender smile.

"Are you going to go 'Awww' every time something romantic happens?" Padma asked Lavender, who didn't answer.

I'm taking it as a yes, poor Ginny." Spoke Padma and continued reading.

**Kingsley was striding backward and forward, glancing up at the sky every time he turned. Harry was reminded of Uncle Vernon pacing the living room a million years ago. Hagrid, Hermione, and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing upward in silence. None of them looked around when Harry and Ginny joined their silent vigil.**

**The minutes stretched into what might as well have been years. The slightest breath of wind made them all jump and turn toward the whispering bush or tree in the hope that one of the missing Order members might leap unscathed from its leaves –**

**And then a broom materialized directly above them and streaked toward the ground –**

**"It's them!" screamed Hermione.**

**Tonks landed in a long skid that sent earth and pebbles everywhere.**

**Remus!" Tonks cried as she staggered off the broom into Lupin's arms. His face was set and white: He seemed unable to speak, Ron tripped dazedly toward Harry and Hermione.**

**"You're okay," he mumbled, before Hermione flew at him and hugged him tightly.**

"Aw-" began Lavender but, Padma put a hand over her mouth "We all know Lavender, its adorable."

"Sorry, it's just how they are not official yet!" complained Lavender.

"Lavender….."

"What? Oh yes sorry, read."

**"I thought – I thought –"**

**"'M all right," said Ron, patting her on the back. "'M fine."**

**"Ron was great," said Tonks warmly, relinquishing her hold on Lupin. "Wonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom –"**

**"You did?" said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck.**

**"Always the tone of surprise," he said a little grumpily, breaking free. **

**"Are we the last back?"**

**"No," said Ginny, "we're still waiting for Bill and Fleur and Mad-Eye and Mundungus. I'm going to tell Mum and Dad you're okay, Ron –"**

**She ran back inside.**

**"So what kept you? What happened?" Lupin sounded almost angry at Tonks.**

**"Bellatrix," said Tonks. "She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus, She tried very hard to kill me. I just wish I'd got her, I owe Bellatrix."**

Hearing of Bellatrix, Neville curled up his fist, feeling a light touch on his shoulder, he looked seeing Hannah with her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Neville."

Neville nodded blushing hard.

**But we definitely injured Rodolphus . . . . Then we got to Ron's Auntie Muriel's and we missed our Portkey and she was fussing over us –"**

**A muscle was jumping in Lupin's jaw. He nodded, but seemed unable to say anything else.**

**"So what happened to you lot?" Tonks asked, turning to Harry, Hermione, and Kingsley.**

**They recounted the stories of their own journeys, but all the time the continued absence of Bill, Fleur, Mad-Eye, and Mundungus seemed to lie upon them like a frost, its icy bite harder and harder to ignore.**

**"I'm going to have to get back to Downing Street, I should have been there an hour ago," said Kingsley finally, after a last sweeping gaze at the sky. "Let me know when they're back,."**

**Lupin nodded. With a wave to the others, Kingsley walked away into the darkness toward the gate. Harry thought he heard the faintest pop as Kingsley Disapparated just beyond the Burrow's boundaries.**

**Mr. And Mrs. Weasley came racing down the back steps, Ginny behind them. Both parents hugged Ron before turning to Lupin and Tonks.**

**"Thank you," said Mrs. Weasley, "for our sons."**

**"Don't be silly, Molly," said Tonks at once.**

**"How's George?" asked Lupin.**

**"What's wrong with him?" piped up Ron.**

**"He's lost –"**

**But the end of Mrs. Weasley's sentence was drowned in a general outcry. A thestral **

"Oh good!" said Hannah.

**had just soared into sight and landed a few feet from them. Bill and Fleur slid from its back, windswept but unhurt.**

**"Bill! Thank God, thank God –"**

**Mrs. Weasley ran forward, but the hug Bill bestowed upon her was perfunctory. Looking directly at his father, he said, "Mad-Eye's dead."**

Ginny bit her lip, remembering this night she kept her head down, not watching the reactions of the other's faces. The D.A, were shocked Mad- Eye they remembered their lessons in the fourth year, he couldn't be dead! People like him don't die, and it shook them a little to know that they never thought of his as this Fallen Warrior realizing, the chapter title really did go with Mad- Eye Moody.

Padma took a sharp breath before continuing.

**Nobody spoke, nobody moved. Harry felt as though something inside him was falling, falling through the earth, leaving him forever.**

**"We saw it," said Bill; Fleur nodded, tear tracks glittering on her cheeks in the light from the kitchen window. "It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad-Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too. Voldemort – he can fly – went straight for them. Dung panicked, I heard him cry out, Mad-Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated.**

"He Disapparated?" questioned Neville, looking at Padma, who looked back at the book and nodded. Colin and Dennis frowned deeply, while others had a mask of no emotion on their faces, while they fumed inside. Padma cleared her throat trying to not sound angry as she read.

**Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward off his broom and – there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on our own tail –"**

**Bill's voice broke.**

**"Of course you couldn't have done anything," said Lupin.**

**They all stood looking at each other. Harry could not quite comprehend it. Mad-Eye dead; it could not be . . . . Mad-Eye, so tough, so brave, the consummate survivor . . .**

**At last it seemed to dawn on everyone, though nobody said it, that there was no point of waiting in the yard anymore, and in silence they followed Mr. And Mrs. Weasley back into the Burrow, and into the living room, where Fred and George were laughing together.**

"They don't know" whispered Hannah frowning.

**"What's wrong?" said Fred, scanning their faces as they entered, "What's happened? Who's -?"**

**"Mad-Eye," said Mr. Weasley, "Dead."**

**The twins' grins turned to grimaces of shock. Nobody seemed to know what to do. Tonks was crying silently into a handkerchief: She had been close to Mad-Eye, Harry knew, his favorite and his protégée at the Ministry of Magic. **

"Poor Tonks." Spoke Lavender, Hannah nodding her head in agreement.

**Hagrid, who had sat down on the floor in the corner where he had most space, was dabbing at his eyes with his tablecloth-sized handkerchief.**

**Bill walked over to the sideboard and pulled out a bottle of fire-whisky and some glasses.**

**"Here," he said, and with a wave of his wand, and sent twelve full glasses soaring through the room to each of them, holding the thirteenth aloft. "Mad-Eye."**

**"Mad-Eye," they all said, and drank.**

**"Mad-Eye," echoed Hagrid, a little late, with a hiccup. The firewhisky seared Harry's throat. It seemed to burn feeling back into him, dispelling the numbness and sense of unreality firing him with something that was like courage.**

**"So Mundungus disappeared?" said Lupin, who had drained his own glass in one.**

"So is that why you told us Mundungus was the spy?" asked Terry bitterly.

Ginny only nodded.

**The atmosphere changed at once. Everybody looked tense, watching Lupin, both wanting him to go on, it seemed to Harry, and slightly afraid of what they might hear.**

**"I know what you're thinking," said Bill, "and I wondered that too, on the way back here, because they seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared, and in case you've forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested that little bit of skullduggery. **

Some of the D.A frowned at this. If Mundungus was the spy, wouldn't Snape know about the Polyjuice Potion? Terry bit his lip something wasn't right.

**Why wouldn't he have told them the essential point? I think Dung panicked, it's as simple as that. He didn't want to come in the first place, but Mad-Eye made him, and You-Know-Who went straight for them. It was enough to make anyone panic."**

**"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," sniffed Tonks. "Mad-Eye said he'd expect the real Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to Kingsley. . . . "**

**"Yes, and zat eez all very good," snapped Fleur, "but still eet does not explain 'ow zey know we were moving 'Arry tonight, does eet? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan."**

"Well that could be true." Admitted Terry.

"Yes, but it makes me feel as if she is an assuming Hagrid." Ginny said, frowning. "And Hagrid would never do that to Harry."

Nobody replied to this statement.

**She glared around at them all; tear tracks still etched on her beautiful face, silently daring any of them to contradict her. Nobody did. The only sound to break the silence was that of Hagrid hiccupping from behind his handkerchief. Harry glanced at Hagrid, who had just risked his own life to save Harry's – Hagrid, whom he loved, whom he trusted, who had once been tricked into giving Voldemort crucial information in exchange for a dragon's egg. . . .**

"Dragon Egg?" questioned Ginny.

"Hagrid gave Voldemort crucial information?" asked a worried Cho.

"The book said Hagrid was tricked Cho." Said Ginny.

"Wait when did this happen?" asked Seamus.

Neville stiffened remembering his first year hearing Malfoy discussing about Harry having a dragon egg, so there was one!

"I remember, I overheard Malfoy talking about how Hagrid had an illegal dragon egg, and Harry was going to go somewhere!" said Neville some stared at him, the Creevy brothers looked in awe.

"Wow." Said Seamus, breaking the silence.

"Maybe I should read now."

**"No," Harry said aloud, and they all looked at him, surprised: The firewhisky seemed to have amplified his voice. "I mean . . . if somebody made a mistake," Harry went on, "and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault," he repeated, again a little louder than he would usually have spoken. "We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever** **sell me to Voldemort."**

The D.A smiled at this.

**More silence followed his words. They were all looking at him; Harry felt a little hot again, and drank some more firewhisky for something to do. As he drank, he thought of Mad-Eye. Mad-Eye had always been scathing about Dumbledore's willingness to trust people**

**"Well said, Harry," said Fred unexpectedly.**

**"Year, 'ear, 'ear," said George, with half a glance at Fred, the corner of whose mouth twitched.**

The D.A chuckled softly.

**Lupin was wearing an odd expression as he looked at Harry. It was close to pitying.**

**"You think I'm a fool?" demanded Harry.**

**"No, I think you're like James," said Lupin, "who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends."**

**Harry knew what Lupin was getting at: that his father had been betrayed by his friend Peter Pettigrew. **

The D.A light faces, turned sour remembering what Ginny told them about Wormtail.

"Wormatails name is Peter Pettigrew?" Dennis asked softly. Ginny only nodded her head.

**He felt irrationally angry. He wanted to argue, but Lupin had turned away from him, set down his glass upon a side table, and addressed Bill, "There's work to do. I can ask Kingsley whether –"**

**"No," said Bill at once, "I'll do it, I'll come."**

**"Where are you going?" said Tonks and Fleur together**

"Attack of the wives!" cried Seamus making some snicker.

"Bill and Fleur aren't married yet." Corrected Lavender.

"Will they are married _now_ aren't they."

" Well back _then_ they weren't married!"

"Can't I just make a joke!"

"N-" Lavender was interrupted by Ernie.

"Stop it! Padma read!"

**"Mad-Eye's body," said Lupin. "We need to recover it."**

**"Can't it - ?" began Mrs. Weasley with an appealing look at Bill.**

**"Wait?" said Bill, "Not unless you'd rather the Death Eaters took it?"**

" No, we really don't want that." Answered Hannah.

**Nobody spoke. Lupin and Bill said good bye and left.**

**The rest of them now dropped into chairs, all except for Harry, who remained standing. The suddenness and completeness of death was with them like a presence.**

**"I've got to go too," said Harry.**

"Huh?" said Colin and Dennis.

" Harry can't leave! They're Death Eaters, and how things are looking at The Ministry, Harry won't be able to do magic without being detected!" fussed Hannah.

"Calm down Hannah." Spoke Neville putting a hand on her shoulder, Hannah stopped about to speak, going silent she turn more red, but, nodded.

"Poor Harry the Buzzers are affecting him." Spoke Luna

**Ten pairs of startled eyes looked at him.**

**"Don't be silly, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley, "What are you talking about?"**

**"I can't stay here."**

**He rubbed his forehead; it was prickling again, he had not hurt like this for more than a year.**

"His scar hurts?" questioned Lavender.

"Buzzers have that affect-." Began Luna.

"No, I remember his passing out, clutching his scar during Divination, during the fourth year, I just thought he fell asleep or something… not that I blame him." Answered Seamus.

And like that a note began, landing on Seamus's lap.

_Over the years Harry began having a connection with You- Know- Who, resulting in the fifth year to see into You- Know- Who's mind, during the sixth it seemed to have stopped from You- Know-Who blocking Harry. When his scar hurts it's a sign that he's about to go into You- Know- whose mind. _

"Holy Sh-" began Seamus.

"Seamus, don't use foul language!" snapped Lavender lightly.

"Harry can go into You- Know- Whose mind! And this was during when he started D.A!" said Terry.

"That doesn't change who he is Terry!" said Ginny.

"We know Ginny" reassured Cho. "But let's discuss this, why Harry's scar is hurting now?"

No one answered, Cho even looked at Luna who seemed to have a faraway look in her eyes.

"I'll continue." Padma spoke up.

**"You're all in danger while I'm here. I don't want –"**

**"But don't be so silly!" said Mrs. Weasley. "The whole point of tonight was to get you here safely, and thank goodness it worked. And Fleur's agreed to get married here rather than in France, we've arranged everything so that we can all stay together and look after you –"**

**She did not understand; she was making him feel worse, not better.**

"She knows" spoke up Ginny. "She is guilt tripping you."

**"If Voldemort finds out I'm here –"**

**"But why should he?" asked Mrs. Weasley.**

**"There are a dozen places you might be now, Harry," said Mr. Weasley. "He's got no way of knowing which safe house you're in."**

"But it's the first place on anyone's list everyone knows Harry enjoys going to the Weasleys." Said Neville.

**"It's not me I'm worried for!" said Harry.**

**"We know that," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "but it would make our efforts tonight seem rather pointless if you left."**

**"Yer not goin' anywhere," growled Hagrid. "Blimey, Harry, after all we wen' through ter get you here?"**

**"Yeah, what about my bleeding ear?" said George, hoisting himself up on his cushions.**

**"I know that –"**

**"Mad-Eye wouldn't want –"**

**"I KNOW!" Harry bellowed.**

**He felt beleaguered and blackmailed: Did they think he did not know what they had done for him, didn't they understand that it was for precisely that reason that he wanted to go now, before they had to suffer any more on his behalf? **

"Harry is plan selfless." Muttered Seamus.

"That's what makes Harry amazing!" cried Colin, making the D.A smile slightly at him.

**There was a long and awkward silence in which his scar continued to prickle and throb, and which was broken at last by Mrs. Weasley.**

**"Where's Hedwig, Harry?" she said coaxingly. "We can put her up with Pidwidgeon and give her something to eat."**

"Mum!" groaned Ginny.

"That wasn't the best thing to say." Muttered Terry.

**His insides clenched like a fist. He could not tell her the truth. He drank the last of his firewhisky to avoid answering.**

**"Wait till it gets out yeh did it again, Harry," said Hagrid. "Escaped him, fought him off when he was right on top of yeh!"**

**"It wasn't me," said Harry flatly. "It was my wand. My wand acted of its own accord."**

"No one is going to believe him." Said Terry, the Ravenclaws nodded.

**After a few moments, Hermione said gently, "But that's impossible, Harry. You mean that you did magic without meaning to; you reacted instinctively."**

**"No," said Harry. "The bike was falling, I couldn't have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn't even a spell I recognized. I've never made gold flames appear before."**

**"Often," said Mr. Weasley, "when you're in a pressured situation you can produce magic you never dreamed of. Small children often find, before they're trained –"**

**"It wasn't like that," said Harry through gritted teeth. His scar was burning. He felt angry and frustrated; he hated the idea that they were all imagining him to have power to match Voldemort's.**

**No one said anything. He knew that they did not believe him. Now that he came to think of it, he had never heard of a wand performing magic on its own before.**

Terry bit his lip, thinking, how could Harry's wand act like that? Remembering the note Seamus read Terry realized the connection maybe just not between the wands.

**His scar seared with pain, it was all he could do not to moan aloud. Muttering about fresh air, he set down his glass and left the room.**

**As he crossed the yard, the great skeletal Thestral looked up – rustled its enormous batlike wings, then resumed its grazing. Harry stopped at the gate into the garden, staring out at its overgrown plants, rubbing his pounding forehead and thinking of Dumbledore.**

**Dumbledore would have believed him, he knew it. Dumbledore would have known how and why Harry's wand had acted independently, because Dumbledore always had the answers; he had known about wands, had explained to Harry the strange connection that existed between his wand and Voldemort's . . . . But Dumbledore, like Mad-Eye, like Sirius, like his parents, like his poor owl, all were gone where Harry could never talk to them again. He felt a burning in his throat that had nothing to do with firewhisky. . . .**

The room felt quite depressing, hearing Harry's thoughts and feelings.

"Oh Harry!" muttered Ginny, Luna patted her back in a friendly way.

**And then, out of nowhere, the pain in his scar peaked. As he clutched his forehead and closed his eyes, a voice screamed inside his head.**

**"You told me the problem would be solved by using another's wand!"**

**And into his mind burst the vision of an emaciated old man lying in rags upon a stone floor, screaming, a horrible drawn-out scream, a scream of unendurable agony. . . .**

**"No! No! I beg you, I beg you. . . ."**

**"You lied to Lord Voldemort, Ollivander!"**

Everyone in the room had frozen, Harry was actually seeing this, he was really seeing into You-Know- Whose Mind!

"Poor Mister Ollivander." Whispered Hannah. Everyone nodded, Padma cleared her throat and continued.

**"I did not. . . . I swear I did not. . . ."**

**"You sought to help Potter, to help him escape me!"**

**"I swear I did not. . . . I believed a different wand would work. . . ."**

**"Explain, then, what happened. Lucius's wand is destroyed!"**

**"I cannot understand. . . . The connection . . . exists only . . between your two wands. . . ."**

**"Lies!"**

**"Please . . . I beg you. . . ."**

**And Harry saw the white hand raise its wand and felt Voldemort's surge of vicious anger, saw the frail old main on the floor writhe in agony –**

Luna, Hannah, and Lavender were in silent tears, some cringed at the words, the Creevy brothers, scooted closer together, quite scared of the contents in this book.

**"Harry?"**

**It was over as quickly as it had come: Harry stood shaking in the darkness, clutching the gate into the garden, his heart racing, his scar still tingling. It was several moments before he realized that Ron and Hermione were at his side.**

**"Harry, come back in the house," Hermione whispered, "You aren't still thinking of leaving?"**

**"Yeah, you've got to stay, mate," said Ron, thumping Harry on the back.**

**"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, close enough now to look into Harry's face. "You look awful!"**

"Nice, Hermione." Commented Seamus softly, trying to bring humor back into the situation but, it only failed.

**"Well," said Harry shakily, "I probably look better than Ollivander. . . ."**

**When he had finished telling them what he had seen, Ron looked appalled, but Hermione downright terrified.**

**"But it was supposed to have stopped! Your scar – it wasn't supposed to do this anymore! You mustn't let that connection open up again – Dumbledore wanted you to close your mind!"**

**When he did not reply, she gripped his arm.**

**"Harry, he's taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the Wizarding world! Don't let him inside your head too!"**

"That's the end of the chapter" spoke Padma dully, putting the book on the table.

"That was a terrible chapter." Dennis spoke.

"Don't worry guys Harry is at the Burrow so things will lighten up." Reassured Ginny, looking at the faces of the D.A she turned to Neville, who looked at her back before speaking.

"Why don't we, head back to your common rooms, um, Hufflepuffs ask Zacharias if he wishes to join, and Ravenclaws you guys work on the parchment signup sheet. Err… we'll meet again on Saturday any changes, check for your coin." Neville spoke, as they walked out, in tight groups.

Leaving Ginny, Neville, and Luna last the three walking down the hall.

"Where's the book guys?" asked Ginny.

"I have the book, don't worry Ginny no one will discover it, and the Willurs won't get a nibble out of the page corners," said Luna softly, Ginny putting on a smile.

"Good"

**A/N: Please tell me if the chapter is good! I don't I know I just feel unsure about this one….. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. The Ghoul in Pajamas

Neville walked into Muggle Studies a new core class for Hogwarts, walking into the room, decorated in crude Muggle signs and _Mudbloods and the Dangers they Pose to a Pureblood society_ banners_. _ Alecto Carrow sat at her desk, her dark hair in a dirty bun, wearing forest green robes, sleeves rolled up Neville could see her Dark Mark, the way she posed in class she made it look like some badge of honor!

With that thought as he moved to a seat in the back, he dug in his pockets holding the fake D.A coin that was once Harry's he remembered when Ginny handed it to him, smiling "You deserve it Neville." honestly Neville didn't feel like he did, he had no idea how to lead a group or anything at that matter, it seemed years away since the last D.A meeting. When was he going to start again? He felt the pressure building, around him inclosing him. Looking at his fellow classmates, he saw Seamus peeking up at him, from the third row, Terry who was reading a book, stopped, taking out his coin looking at it as if waiting for something.

Carrow cleared her throat making the class look up at her she seemed extremely cheery, which didn't make Neville feel any better. "As you know class, we have been talking about the four signs in spotting a muggle." Neville tried to hold back a snort. "But before we get into these muggles, we have to start were these muggles affect the wizarding world, seep their way through, to join us. Mudbloods." Carrow made a face of disgust, Neville's thoughts turned to Hermione Granger, she was a friend to Neville and helped him in potions, she was nice and the brightest witch of their age.

"Today we will be learning from the woman that runs the _Muggle- Born Registration Commission _ she was one of the finest teachers here at Hogwarts, please welcome back Dolores Umbridge.

Neville's stomach kicked, his eyes swerved around the room to see the shocked, and frightened faces of his classmates, not Umbridge he thought but, seeing a woman with great resembles of a toad, wearing a pink dress and petticoat, a golden locket with a green S.

"Hem- hem." Neville cringed remembering the high pitch voice of Professor Umbridge. "Hello again students, it's so great to see your faces look upon me today." Umbridge a fake smile, turning to Carrow, who waved her hand to the class. "They're all yours Dolores."

As Carrow moved to her desk, as Umbridge moved in front of them again, with a wave of her wand, book that had been sitting on Carrow's desk, each book landed on each desk, as Neville's book landed, he stared at the title, it was the same font as the banners. _The Dangers of Mudbloods. Ministry Approved! _

Anger build in Neville taking out his coin, he made the date and time, quickly.

Tonight.

Neville waited, he had gotten their early. He wondered what time it was and like that, a new wall clock appeared, looking at the clock, they had five minutes. Neville began to become incredible nervous.

The door opened, making Neville turn around quickly, losing balance landing on the floor, hearing a chuckle Neville was happy to see Ginny instead of another D.A member.

"Neville!" cried Ginny holding out her hands, helping Neville to his feet. "Neville, I got your message, why did you plan it at the last moment?" At this Neville blushed slightly, was it a wrong idea to plan this meeting? Did he make another mistake?

"I-I." stuttered Neville. "I was at Muggle Studies and something just came over me, I'm sorry Ginny for planning this at such a short amount of time-."

"It's fine Neville." Reassured Ginny.

At this, Seamus, Colin, and Dennis walked in the two brother smiled excited. "How many chapters are we going to read Neville?" asked Colin smiling.

"I don't know Colin." Answered Neville "I want this to end before curfew."

"Then we don't have much time." Commented Seamus looking at the new wall clock. "Is that new?"

But, Seamus questioned was ignored, as the door opened Lavender, Pavarti, and Hannah walked in as Hannah was speaking "- Harry had this strange vision about Ollivander being tortured."

Seamus, Colin, and Dennis greeted the D.A members, Neville looked at Ginny who paled a little hearing Hannah's sentence, when Ginny gave a stiff nod, Neville turned to the girls greeting them.

"Hope you're feeling better Pavarti." Spoke Neville, Pavarti nodded her face a little green probably from Hannah's summaries of the book.

"I'm really glad I could come." Pavarti said, giving a small smile.

When Neville reached Hannah, he couldn't help but, blush when shaking hands, trying not to make eye contact with her.

"I'm really glad we are having a meeting! I can't wait to read more!" Hannah said, but, the only thing Neville could do was nod.

Each member should up, even the snarky Zacharias Smith, the Ravenclaws came in last, "We've been trying to work on that parchment we've got everything prepared we just have to do the charm and then, we can all sign it." Terry spoke, the mumbled to himself "Granger made it seem so easy."

As they all sat, down in the seats, Luna took the book, holding it up in the air. "Who would like to read?" she asked dreamily.

"I'll read." Offered Pavarti, passing her the book, she cleared her throat and began.

_"The Ghoul in Pajamas."_

"Very odd title." Sniffed Zacharias.

"Well, at least it was better than the last one." Spoke Hannah smiling slightly.

**The shock of losing Mad-Eye hung over the house in the days that followed; Harry kept expecting to see him stumping in through the back door like the other Order members, who passed in and out to relay news. Harry felt that nothing but action would assuage his feelings of guilt and grief and that he ought to set out on his mission to find and destroy Horcruxes as soon as possible.**

"**Well, you can't do anything about the" – Ron mouthed the word Horcruxes – "till you're seventeen. You've still got the Trace on you. **

"Horcruxes?" questioned Ginny, many heads turned to the Ravenclaws in the room.

"I never heard of them." Terry replied turning to Padma and Cho who both shook their heads.

"Well there is no note, so it's going to be explained later." Colin spoke; during this the two brothers were watching the ceiling above them.

"Note?" questioned Zacharias.

"Yeah, if there is something in the book we don't know about a note comes and gives us the information, like when Mrs. Potter died for Harry giving-."

"Yes for giving him a _love_ shield I know Ernie you told me."

"Fine then, since a note didn't come it means it's going to be explained later in the story, happy?" finished Ernie.

"Not exactly." Zacharias mumbled.

**And we can plan here as well as anywhere, can't we? Or," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "d'you reckon you already know where the You-Know-Whats are?"**

"**No," Harry admitted.**

"So they are searching for these Horcruxes." Said Padma.

"Appears so." Said Neville.

"**I think Hermione's been doing a bit of research," said Ron. "She said she was saving it for when you got here."**

"Good so we can figure out what Horcruxes are." Said Cho.

**They were sitting at the breakfast table; Mr. Weasley and Bill had just left for work. Mrs. Weasley had gone upstairs to wake Hermione and Ginny, while Fleur had drifted off to take a bath.**

"**The Trace'll break on the thirty-first," said Harry. "That means I only need to stay here four days. Then I can –"**

**"Five days," Ron corrected him firmly. "We've got to stay for the wedding. They'll kill us if we miss it."**

**Harry understood "they" to mean Fleur and Mrs. Weasley.**

"Of course they would." Said Lavender "They can't just miss the wedding."

**It's one extra day," said Ron, when Harry looked mutinous.**

"**Don't they realize how important –?"**

"'**Course they don't," said Ron. "They haven't got a clue. And now you mention it, I wanted to talk to you about that."**

**Ron glanced toward the door into the hall to check that Mrs. Weasley was not returning yet, then leaned in closer to Harry.**

"**Mum's been trying to get it out of Hermione and me. What we're off to do. She'll try you next, so brace yourself. Dad and Lupin've both asked as well, but when we said Dumbledore told you not to tell anyone except us, they dropped it. Not Mum, though. She's determined."**

"Of course she is worried for you." Explained Hannah softly.

**Ron's prediction came true within hours. Shortly before lunch, Mrs. Weasley detached Harry from the others by asking him to help identify a lone man's sock that she thought might have come out of his rucksack. Once she had him cornered in the tiny scullery off the kitchen, she started.**

"Great I can't believe Harry fell for the lone sock trick!" cried Ginny, making Seamus and some snicker.

"**Ron and Hermione seem to think that the three of you are dropping out of Hogwarts," she began in a light, casual tone.**

**"Oh," said Harry. "Well, yeah. We are."**

**The mangle turned off its own accord in a corner, wringing out what looked like one of Mr. Weasley's vests.**

"**May I ask why you are abandoning your education?" said Mrs. Weasley.**

"**Well, Dumbledore left me . . . stuff to do," mumbled Harry. "Ron and Hermione know about it, and they want to come too."**

"**What sort of 'stuff'?"**

"**I'm sorry, I can't –"**

**"Well, frankly, I think Arthur and I have a right to know, and I'm sure Mr. And Mrs. Granger would agree!" said Mrs. Weasley. Harry had been afraid of the "concerned parent" attack. He forced himself to look directly into her eyes, noticing as he did so that they were precisely the same shade of brown as Ginny's. This did not help.**

Lavender and Pavarti giggled, while some boys snickered.

"They are?" asked Ginny ignoring them not getting a reply, Pavarti let out another giggle and began to read.

"**Dumbledore didn't want anyone else to know, Mrs. Weasley. I'm sorry. Ron and Hermione don't have to come, it's their choice –"**

"Doesn't he realize that they are all in this together?" asked Seamus.

"Nope." Answered Ginny and Neville.

"**I don't see that you have to go either!" she snapped, dropping all pretenses now. "You're barely of age, any of you! It's utter nonsense, if Dumbledore needed work doing, he had the whole Order at his command! Harry, you must have misunderstood him. Probably he was telling you something he wanted done, and you took it to mean that he wanted you–"**

"**I didn't misunderstand," said Harry flatly. "It's got to be me."**

**He handed her back the single sock he was supposed to be identifying, which was patterned with golden bulrushes.**

"**And that's not mine. I don't support Puddlemere United."**

"**Oh, of course not," said Mrs. Weasley with a sudden and rather unnerving return to her casual tone. "I should have realized. Well, Harry, while we've still got you here, you won't mind helping with the preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding, will you? There's still so much to do."**

"**No – I – of course not," said Harry, disconcerted by this sudden change of subject.**

"**Sweet of you," she replied, and she smiled as she left the scullery.**

"Wow, Mom never lets people off that easily." Ginny said making some look at her strangely.

**From that moment on, Mrs. Weasley kept Harry, Ron and Hermione so busy with preparations for the wedding that they hardly had any time to think. The kindest explanation of this behavior would have been that Mrs. Weasley wanted to distract them all from thoughts of Mad-Eye and the terrors of their recent journey. After two days of nonstop cutlery cleaning, of color-matching favors, ribbons, and flowers, of de-gnoming the garden and helping Mrs. Weasley cook vast batches of canapés, however, Harry started to suspect her of a different motive. All the jobs she handed out seemed to keep him, Ron, and Hermione away from one another; he had not had a chance to speak to the two of them alone since the first night, when he had told them about Voldemort torturing Ollivander.**

"**I think Mum thinks that if she can stop the three of you getting together and planning, she'll be able to delay you leaving," Ginny told Harry in an undertone, as they laid the table for dinner on the third night of his stay.**

"That's stupid." Said Terry "If they keep being separated then they won't have time to plan!"

"But, she is just trying to protect them." Countered Hannah.

"Well they aren't first years anymore." Said Terry finishing the conversation, Hannah sighed frowning, Neville patted her shoulder softly, before Pavarti continued.

**"And then what does she think's going to happen?" Harry muttered. "Someone else might kill off Voldemort while she's holding us here making vol-au-vents?"**

"He shouldn't have said that." Whispered Lavender to Pavarti. Watching as Ginny, sighed putting her hands on her face, Luna who sat right next to her patted her back.

**He had spoken without thinking, and saw Ginny's face whiten.**

"**So it's true?" she said. "That's what you're trying to do?"**

"**I – not – I was joking," said Harry evasively.**

"Ginny is not _that_ stupid Harry." Said Seamus.

"Stop talking to the book Finnigan!" snapped Ginny, taking a cushion throwing it across to Seamus, hitting him right in the face.

**They stared at each other, and there was something more than shock in Ginny's expression. Suddenly Harry became aware that this was the first time that he had been alone with her since those stolen hours in secluded corners of the Hogwarts grounds.**

The D.A had many reactions to this, the boys made faces of disgust, Dennis had gone "Eww." , the girls giggled, while Ginny went red in the face. Cho had a look of discomfort, during the sentence.

**He was sure she was remembering them too. Both of them jumped as the door opened, and Mr. Weasley, Kingsley, and Bill walked in.**

**They were often joined by other Order members for dinner now, because the Burrow had replaced number twelve, Grimmauld Place as the headquarters. Mr. Weasley had explained that after the death of Dumbledore, their Secret-Keeper, each of the people to whom Dumbledore had confided Grimmauld Place's location had become a Secret-Keeper in turn.**

"Secret- Keeper?" asked Dennis.

"It goes with Fidelius Charm, it's a charm to keep a place hidden along with this you have a secret keeper who is the only person that can tell someone were the place is. Dumbledore was the Secret- Keeper of Grimmauld Place." Explained Ginny.

"Cool." Was Dennis's reply

"**And as there are around twenty of us, that greatly dilutes the power of the Fidelius Charm. Twenty times as many opportunities for the Death Eaters to get the secret out of somebody. We can't expect it to hold much longer."**

"**But surely Snape will have told the Death Eaters the address by now?" asked Harry.**

"He has an excellent point." Ernie said.

"Yes but, I'm sure they put some stuff up so Snape couldn't get inside." Terry spoke.

**Well, Mad-Eye set up a couple of curses against Snape in case he turns up there again. We hope they'll be strong enough both to keep him out and to bind his tongue if he tries to talk about the place, but we can't be sure. It would have been insane to keep using the place as headquarters now that its protection has become so shaky."**

**The kitchen was so crowded that evening it was difficult to maneuver knives and forks. Harry found himself crammed beside Ginny; the unsaid things that had just passed between them made him wish they had been separated by a few more people. **

"Hmph!" muttered Ginny. "Thanks Harry!"

**He was trying so hard to avoid brushing her arm he could barely cut his chicken.**

"**No news about Mad-Eye?" Harry asked Bill.**

"**Nothing," replied Bill.**

**They had not been able to hold a funeral for Moody, because Bill and Lupin had failed to recover his body. It had been difficult to know where he might have fallen, given the darkness and the confusion of the battle.**

"**The Daily Prophet hasn't said a word about him dying or about finding the body," Bill went on. "But that doesn't mean much. It's keeping a lot quiet these days."**

"**And they still haven't called a hearing about all the underage magic I used escaping the Death Eaters?" Harry called across the table to Mr. Weasley, who shook his head.**

"**Because they know I had no choice or because they don't want me to tell the world Voldemort attacked me?"**

"**The latter, I think. Scrimgeour doesn't want to admit that You-Know-Who is as powerful as he is, nor that Azkaban's seen a mass breakout."**

"That is stupid." Commented Seamus.

"Yes but, telling someone that would make the public panic." Countered Zacharias.

"People needed to be informed Smith." Cho said. Zacharias said nothing but huffed.

"**Yeah, why tell the public the truth?" said Harry, clenching his knife so tightly that the faint scars on the back of his right hand stood out, white against his skin: I must not tell lies.**

"**Isn't anyone at the Ministry prepared to stand up to him?" asked Ron angrily.**

"**Of course, Ron, but people are terrified," Mr. Weasley replied, "terrified that they will be next to disappear, their children the next to be attacked! There are nasty rumors going around; I for one don't believe the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts resigned. She hasn't been seen for weeks now. Meanwhile Scrimgeour remains shut up in his office all day; I just hope he's working on a plan."**

**There was a pause in which Mrs. Weasley magicked the empty plates onto the work surface and served apple tart.**

"**We must decide 'ow you will be disguised, 'Arry," said Fleur, once everyone had pudding. "For ze wedding," she added, when he looked confused.**

"Why can't Harry just go as himself?" asked Colin.

"Safety measures, I think Fleur will explain it" Answered Ginny

"**Of course, none of our guests are Death Eaters, but we cannot guarantee zat zey will not let something slip after zey 'ave 'ad champagne."**

**From this, Harry gathered that she still suspected Hagrid.**

Everyone who was close to Hagrid frowned.

"**Yes, good point," said Mrs. Weasley from the top of the table where she sat, spectacles perched on the end of her nose, scanning an immense list of jobs that she had scribbled on a very long piece of parchment. "Now, Ron, have you cleaned out your room yet?"**

"**Why?" exclaimed Ron, slamming his spoon down and glaring at his mother. "Why does my room have to be cleaned out? Harry and I are fine with it the way it is!"**

Some began to laugh at this.

"Ron is committing complete suicide talking back to Mum." Said Ginny shaking her head.

**"We are holding your brother's wedding here in a few days' time, young man –"**

**"And are they getting married in my bedroom?" asked Ron furiously. "No! So why in the name of Merlin's saggy left –"**

**"Don't talk to your mother like that," said Mr. Weasley firmly. "And do as you're told."**

**Ron scowled at both his parents, then picked up his spoon and attacked the last few mouthfuls of his apple tart.**

"Ah, Ron you shouldn't take it out on the food," said Seamus in the most serious face he could muster, only to receive odd looks at him.

Pavarti had whispered something to Lavender who got very red, and slapped her friend's arm. "Oh! Just read!"

Pavarti smirked, without saying anything and continued reading.

**"I can help; some of it's my mess." Harry told Ron, but Mrs. Weasley cut across him.**

"Good try, Harry, but mum isn't going let you be near Ron or Hermione." Said Ginny.

"Wow, you're mom tries hard." muttered Ernie.

"Yeah but, it won't last." Terry said. "They'll get together somehow."

"**No, Harry, dear, I'd much rather you helped Arthur muck out the chickens, and Hermione, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd change the sheets for Monsieur and Madame Delacour; you know they're arriving at eleven tomorrow morning."**

**But as it turned out, there was very little to do for the chickens. "There's no need to, er, mention it to Molly," Mr. Weasley told Harry, blocking his access to the coop, "but, er, Ted Tonks sent me most of what was left of Sirius's bike and, er, I'm hiding – that's to say, keeping – it in here. Fantastic stuff: There's an exhaust gaskin, as I believe it's called, the most magnificent battery, and it'll be a great opportunity to find out how brakes work. I'm going to try and put it all back together again when Molly's not – I mean, when I've got time."**

The D.A was laughing through this, making Pavarti sigh softly, with a slight annoyed look on her face. Ginny had a small smile on her lips.

_So Dad_ she thought.

**When they returned to the house, Mrs. Weasley was nowhere to be seen, so Harry slipped upstairs to Ron's attic bedroom.**

"**I'm doing it, I'm doing –! Oh, it's you," said Ron in relief, as Harry entered the room.**

Some of the D.A began to snicker making Pavarti frown deeply; couldn't she read without someone laughing?

** Ron lay back down on the bed, which he had evidently just vacated. The room was just as messy as it had been all week; the only chance was that Hermione was now sitting in the far corner, her fluffy ginger cat, Crookshanks, at her feet, sorting books, some of which Harry recognized as his own, into two enormous piles.**

"**Hi, Harry," she said, as he sat down on his camp bed.**

"**And how did you manage to get away?"**

"**Oh, Ron's mum forgot that she asked Ginny and me to change the sheets yesterday," said Hermione. **

"See?" said Terry proving his previous statement.

"We know Terry." Huffed Pavarti, her voice harsh, making Terry give an offended look to Pavarti who shrugged it off and continued reading.

**She threw Numerology and Grammatical onto one pile and The Rise and fall of the Dark Arts onto the other.**

"**We were just talking about Mad-Eye," Ron told Harry. "I reckon he might have survived."**

This made some of the D.A frown, Ginny sighed knowing Mad- Eye was dead and will stay dead, it wasn't possible.

"That impossible." Said Cho who had voiced Ginny's thoughts, making Ginny look at Cho in slight shock.

"Maybe Professor Moody was awesome he could have used some spell-." Began Dennis, remembering the Professor in his first year.

"Dennis, remember the wand was knocked out of his hand." Colin said putting a shoulder on his younger brother, who pouted.

"Oh."

Pavarti watched the D.A, with her eyes narrowed, more interruptions.

**"But Bill saw him hit by the Killing Curse," said Harry.**

**"Yeah, but Bill was under attack too," said Ron. "How can he be sure what he saw?"**

**"Even if the Killing Curse missed, Mad-Eye still fell about a thousand feet," said Hermione, now weight Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland in her hand.**

**"He could have used a Shield Charm –"**

**"Fleur said his wand was blasted out of his hand," said Harry.**

**"Well, all right, if you want him to be dead," said Ron grumpily, punching his pillow into a more comfortable shape.**

**"Of course we don't want him to be dead!" said Hermione, looking shocked. "It's dreadful that he's dead! But we're being realistic!"**

**For the first time, Harry imagined Mad-Eye's body, broken as Dumbledore's had been, yet with that one eye still whizzing in its socket. He felt a stab of revulsion mixed with a bizarre desire to laugh**.

Colin, Dennis, Neville, and most female occupants in the room looked slightly green, the other didn't look much better.

"The boy is very morbid." Muttered Zacharias, his voice showing distaste.

"**The Death Eaters probably tidied up after themselves, that's why no one's found him," said Ron wisely.**

"**Yeah," said Harry. "Like Barty Crouch, turned into a bone and buried in Hagrid's front garden. They probably transfigured Moody and stuffed him –"**

This didn't help the mood at all.

**"Don't!" squealed Hermione. Startled, Harry looked over just in time to see her burst into tears over her copy of Spellman's Syllabary.**

"**Oh no," said Harry, struggling to get up from the old camp bed. "Hermione, I wasn't trying to upset –"**

**But with a great creaking of rusty bedsprings, Ron bounded off the bed and got there first. One arm around Hermione,**

The girls smiled. "Ron's being sweet to Hermione, hope they get together soon." Said Lavender to Padma and Pavarti beside her who both nodded. Ginny smiled thinking about Hermione truly being part of the family.

**He fished in his jeans pocket and withdrew a revolting-looking handkerchief that he had used to clean out the oven earlier.**

The small smiles that were on the girls faces wiped off in seconds with a look of disgust, Ginny rolled her eyes, at Ron, only him.

"Worth a shot Ron." Said Neville, his gaze flickered to Hannah then back.

**Hastily pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the rag and said, "Tergeo."**

**The wand siphoned off most of the grease. Looking rather pleased with him, Ron handed the slightly smoking handkerchief to Hermione.**

The disgusted faces decreased slightly.

"At least he clean it before giving it to Hermione." Said Hannah lightly.

"**Oh . . . thanks, Ron. . . . I'm sorry. . . ." She blew her nose and hiccupped. "It's just so awf-ful, isn't it? R-right after Dumbledore . . . I j-just n-never imagined Mad-Eye dying, somehow, he seemed so tough!"**

"**Yeah, I know," said Ron, giving her a squeeze. "But you know what he'd say to us if he was here?"**

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" a voice screamed, making Pavarti drop her book, Colin almost fell of his chair, many people had jumped slightly, only leaving Seamus a red faced boy- smiling, holding back his laughter. Lavender was the first to react, reaching over she slapped Seamus on the back of his head, making him double over.

"Oh sh-. Lavender! That hurt!." Cried Seamus.

"Good" said Lavender, smiling with accomplishment. Pavarti sighed picking up the book she flipped to the right page, as Seamus kept shooting looks at Lavender, his expression annoyed.

"'**C-constant vigilance,'" said Hermione, mopping her eyes. **

Many people turned to Seamus at this.

**That's right," said Ron, nodding. "He'd tell us to learn from what happened to him. And what I've learned is not to trust that cowardly little squit, Mundungus."**

"Hear, hear!" cried Ernie, making Zacharias glare at him, Ernie just smiled ignoring his housemate.

**Hermione gave a shaky laugh and leaned forward to pick up two more books. A second later, Ron had snatched his arm back from around her shoulders; she had dropped The Monster of Monsters on his foot. The book had broken free from its restraining belt and snapped viciously at Ron's ankle.**

Many winced remembering their own pair of _Monster's Book of Monsters_. Terry didn't even remember what happened to his own copy, wonder where it went? Terry asked himself.

"**I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hermione cried as Harry wrenched the book from Ron's leg and retied it shut.**

**"What are you doing with all those books anyway?" Ron asked, limping back to his bed.**

"**Just trying to decide which ones to take with us," said Hermione, "When we're looking for the Horcruxes."**

"**Oh, of course," said Ron, clapping a hand to his forehead. "I forgot we'll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library."**

The D.A chuckled at this.

"Nice Ron." Said Colin.

"**Ha ha," said Hermione, looking down at Spellman's Syllabary. "I wonder . . . will we need to translate runes? It's possible. . . . I think we'd better take it, to be safe."**

**She dropped the syllabary onto the larger of the two piles and picked up Hogwarts, A History.**

"**Listen," said Harry.**

**He had sat up straight. Ron and Hermione looked at him with similar mixtures of resignation and defiance.**

"**I know you said after Dumbledore's funeral that you wanted to come with me," Harry began.**

"**Here he goes," Ron said to Hermione, rolling his eyes.**

"**As we knew he would," she sighed, turning back to the books. "You know, I think I will take Hogwarts, A History. Even if we're not going back there, I don't think I'd feel right if I didn't have it with –"**

"**Listen!" said Harry again.**

"Oh dear." Mumbled Ginny "They probably had this talk a million times by now."

The D.A nodded in agreement.

"**No, Harry, you listen," said Hermione. "We're coming with you. That was decided months ago – years, really."**

"**But –"**

"**Shut up," Ron advised him.**

"Good advice." Seamus said.

"– **are you sure you've thought this through?" Harry persisted.**

**"Let's see," said Hermione, slamming Travels with Trolls onto the discarded pile with a rather fierce look. "I've been packing for days, so we're ready to leave at a moment's notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Mad-Eye's whole stock of Polyjuice Potion right under Ron's mum's nose.**

The others looked quite in shock, while some had a new admiration to Hermione.

"Impressive she got out from Mum." Said Ginny "I can't do that. And I'm Mummy's Little Girl." She spoke as if it were a title.

"**I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me – or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you.** **Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't – well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see."**

An unnatural silence filled the room, only the soft sniffled from Hannah, and other women in the room. The boys were not seated with a look of discomfort.

"That is terrible." Lavender muttered wiping a tear from her eye, Seamus moved his eyes to Lavender and back, he seemed to be debating something.

"For the Greater Good." Said Luna dreamily, making many look at her, forgetting she was in the room.

**Hermione's eyes were swimming with tears again. Ron got back off the bed, put his arm around her once more, and frowned at Harry as though reproaching him for lack of tact. Harry could not think of anything to say, not least because it was highly unusual for Ron to be teaching anyone else tact.**

With that sentence the mood increased tremendously.

"So true." Said Ginny, the people who knew Ron closely nodded also in agreement.

**"I – Hermione, I'm sorry – I didn't –"**

**"Didn't realize that Ron and I know perfectly well what might happen if we come with you? Well, we do. Ron, show Harry what you've done."**

**"Nah, he's just eaten," said Ron.**

Ginny grimaced remembering the ghoul that now inhabited her brother's room. Others who had no idea what it was, had faces of caution unsure what it was but, the words _it just eaten_ made it seem worse.

"**Go on, he needs to know!"**

"**Oh, all right. Harry, come here."**

**For the second time Ron withdrew his arm from around Hermione and stumped over to the door.**

"**C'mon."**

"**Why?" Harry asked, following Ron out of the room onto the tiny landing.**

"**Descendo," muttered Ron, pointing his wand at the low ceiling. A hatch opened right over their heads and a ladder slid down to their feet. A horrible, half-sucking, half-moaning sound came out of the square hole, along with an unpleasant smell like open drains.**

"**That's your ghoul, isn't it?" asked Harry, who had never actually met the creature that sometimes disrupted the nightly silence.**

"**Yeah, it is," said Ron, climbing the ladder. "Come and have a look at him."**

**Harry followed Ron up the few short steps into the tiny attic space. His head and shoulders were in the room before he caught sight of the creature curled up a few feet from him, fast asleep in the gloom with its large mouth wide open.**

"**But it . . . it looks . . . do ghouls normally wear pajamas?"**

"Ghoul?" the questioned echoed through the room, many turning to Ginny.

"We have a family ghoul that lives in the attic." She explained shortly, many nodded. Zacharias snorted softly, making Ginny glare at him.

"**No," said Ron. "Nor have they usually got red hair or that number of pustules."**

**Harry contemplated the thing, slightly revolted. It was human in shape and size, and was wearing what, now that Harry's eyes became used to the darkness, was clearly an old pair of Ron's pajamas. He was also sure that ghouls were generally rather slimy and bald, rather than distinctly hairy and covered in angry purple blisters.**

"**He's me, see?" said Ron.**

"**No," said Harry. "I don't."**

"**I'll explain it back in my room, the smell's getting to me," said Ron. They climbed back down the ladder, which Ron returned to the ceiling, and rejoined Hermione, who was still sorting books.**

"**Once we've left, the ghoul's going to come and live down here in my room," said Ron. "I think he's really looking forward to it – well, it's hard to tell, because all he can do is moan and drool – but he nods a lot when you mention it. Anyway, he's going to be me with spattergroit. Good, eh?"**

"That's genius!" cried Terry smiling, many people nodded who had understood.

"What I still don't get it!" cried Dennis.

"Hold on maybe they explain it." Pavarti said continuing.

**Harry merely looked his confusion.**

"**It is!" said Ron, clearly frustrated that Harry had not grasped the brilliance of the plan. "Look, when we three don't turn up at Hogwarts again, everyone's going to think Hermione and I must be with you, right? **

**Which means the Death Eaters will go straight for our families to see if they've got information on where you are."**

"**But hopefully it'll look like I've gone away with Mum and Dad; a lot of Muggle-borns are talking about going into hiding at the moment," said Hermione.**

**"We can't hide my whole family, it'll look too fishy and they can't all leave their jobs," said Ron. "So we're going to put out the story that I'm seriously ill with spattergroit, which is why I can't go back to school. If anyone comes calling to investigate, Mum or Dad can show them the ghoul in my bed, covered in pustules. Spattergroit's really contagious, so they're not going to want to go near him. It won't matter that he can't say anything, either, because apparently you can't once the fungus has spread to your uvula."**

"Wow. That is genius!" cried Dennis, now everyone understood the plan; they all nodded, in agreement.

"**And your mum and dad are in on this plan?" asked Harry.**

"**Dad is. He helped Fred and George transform the ghoul. Mum . . . well, you've seen what she's like. She won't accept we're going till we're gone."**

**There was silence in the room, broken only by gentle thuds as Hermione continued to throw books onto one pile or the other. Ron sat watching her, and Harry looked from one to the other, unable to say anything. The measure they had taken to protect their families made him realize, more than anything else could have done, that they really were going to come with him and that they knew exactly how dangerous that would be. He wanted to tell them what that meant to him, but he simply could not find words important enough.**

**Through the silence came the muffled sounds of Mrs. Weasley shouting from four floors below.**

"**Ginny's probably left a speck of dust on a poxy napkin ring," said Ron. "I dunno why the Delacours have got to come two days before the wedding."**

"**Fleur's sister's a bridesmaid, she needs to be here for the rehearsal, and she's too young to come on her own," said Hermione, as she pored indecisively over Break with a Banshee.**

"**Well, guests aren't going to help Mum's stress levels," said Ron.**

"**What we really need to decide," said Hermione, tossing Defensive Magical Theory into the bin without a second glance **

"Where it belongs!" cried Neville.

"Why did she even keep it when I returned home I burned it." Said Seamus

"Of course you _burned_ it, like everything else you did in the first year." muttered Lavender, some winced remembering Seamus habit to put things on fire. Seamus didn't reply, his ears turned rather pink.

**and picking up An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, "is where we're going after we leave here. I know you said you wanted to go to Godric's Hollow first, Harry, and I understand why, but . . . well . . . shouldn't we make the Horcruxes our priority?"**

"**If we knew where any of the Horcruxes were, I'd agree with you," said Harry, who did not believe that Hermione really understood his desire to return to Godric's Hollow. His parents' graves were only part of the attraction: He had a strong, though inexplicable, feeling that the place held answers for him. **

Many smiled sadly at this, Hannah sighed knowing it had something to do of the night Harry survived the killing curse, and his parent's graves were.

**Perhaps it was simply because it was there that he had survived Voldemort's Killing Curse; now that he was facing the challenge of repeating the feat, **

**Harry was drawn to the place where it had happened, wanting to understand.**

"**Don't you think there's a possibility that Voldemort's keeping a watch on Godric's Hollow?" Hermione asked. "He might expect you to go back and visit your parents' graves once you're free to go wherever you like?"**

"She has a good point." Said Terry, everyone nodded their heads in agreement, the room had a faint melancholy atmosphere.

**This had not occurred to Harry. While he struggled to find a counterargument, Ron spoke up, evidently following his own train of thought.**

"**This R.A.B. person," he said. "You know, the one who stole the real locket?"**

The Ravenclaws sat up, glad to listen more about to R.A.B locket. Along with the rest

"So the one they have is a fake." Muttered Cho

"So those that mean they have to look for the real locket?" Ernie asked, and at this Terry widen his eyes.

"So the locket is a Horcrux!" exclaimed Terry "They are searching for Horcruxes, so this locket most be one of them." Nobody questioned Terry, many nodding their heads in agreement.

**Hermione nodded.**

"**He said in his note he was going to destroy it, didn't he?"**

**Harry dragged his rucksack toward him and pulled out the fake Horcrux in which R.A.B.'s note was still folded.**

"'**I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.'" Harry read out.**

"I was right!" exclaimed Terry once more making many people roll their eyes, ignoring him Pavarti turned back to the book.

**Well, what if he did finish it off?" said Ron.**

"**Or she." Interposed Hermione.**

"**Whichever," said Ron. "it'd be one less for us to do!"**

"Yes but how can you be sure?" questioned Padma.

**"Yes, but we're still going to have to try and trace the real locket, aren't we?" said Hermione, "to find out whether or not it's destroyed."**

**"And once we get hold of it, how do you destroy a Horcrux?" asked Ron.**

**"Well," said Hermione, "I've been researching that."**

**"How?" asked Harry. "I didn't think there were any books on Horcruxes in the library?"**

**"There weren't," said Hermione, who had turned pink. "Dumbledore removed them all, but he – he didn't destroy them." Ron sat up straight, wide-eyed.**

**"How in the name of Merlin's pants have you managed to get your hands on those Horcrux books?"**

**"It – it wasn't stealing!" said Hermione**,

"Of course it wasn't stealing Hermione, you just borrowed without asking." Said Seamus smiling, making many roll their eyes.

"Is that what you called it when you stole my moon chart?" asked Pavarti.

"Exactly." Said Seamus "Borrowing."

**looking from Harry to Ron with a kind of desperation. "They were still library books, even if Dumbledore had taken them off the shelves. Anyway, if he really didn't want anyone to get at them, I'm sure he would have made it much harder to –"**

"**Get to the point!" said Ron.**

"**Well . . . it was easy," said Hermione in a small voice. "I just did a Summoning Charm. You know – Accio. And – they zoomed out of Dumbledore's study window right into the girls' dormitory."**

"**But when did you do this?" Harry asked, regarding Hermione with a mixture of admiration and incredulity.**

"**Just after his – Dumbledore's – funeral," said Hermione in an even smaller voice. "Right after we agreed we'd leave school and go and look for the Horcruxes. When I went back upstairs to get my things it – it just occurred to me that the more we knew about them, the better it would be . . . and I was alone in there . . . so I tried . . . and it worked. They flew straight in through the open window and I – I packed them."**

"Oh! Stealing from the Headmaster, Hermione." Crackled Seamus.

"I thought it_ borrowing_ Finnigan?" questioned Zacharias.

"Whatever, tomato potato, move on."

**She swallowed and then said imploringly, "I can't believe Dumbledore would have been angry, it's not as though we're going to use the information to make a Horcrux, is it?"**

"**Can you hear us complaining?" said Ron. "Where are these books anyway?"**

**Hermione rummaged for a moment and then extracted from the pile a large volume, bound in faded black leather. She looked a little nauseated and held it as gingerly as if it were something recently dead.**

"**This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest Art – it's a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic. I wonder when Dumbledore removed it from the library. . . . if he didn't do it until he was headmaster, I bet Voldemort got all the instruction he needed from here."**

Everyone frowned deeply, so whatever they were after is some type of Dark Magic, then again it was Voldemort what other type of magic would it be.

"**Why did he have to ask Slughorn how to make a Horcrux, then, if he'd already read that?" asked Ron.**

"**He only approached Slughorn to find out what would happen if you split your soul into seven," said Harry. "Dumbledore was sure Riddle already knew how to make a Horcrux by the time he asked Slughorn about them. I think you're right, Hermione, that could easily have been where he got the information**

"Riddle?" asked Neville.

"Tom Riddle is You- Know- Whose real name." explained Ginny, she looked at the shocked faces in front of her. "You didn't really think that- Ginny paused remembering the taboo- that was his real name do you?"

"No, no we probably just never thought of it, before." Hannah said softly.

"**And the more I've read about them," said Hermione, "the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six. It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that's just by making one Horcrux!"**

"Ripping-soul-six" stuttered Hannah absolutely horrified placing a hand on her chest.

"That's what Horcruxes are." Began Neville after minutes of shocked silence "They are a piece of someone soul." Hannah whimpered, grabbing Neville's hand.

"And he made_ six_ of them." Added Colin, gaping like a fish out of water,

"Horrible." Muttered Pavarti rereading the sentence in the book

"What do you expect it's You-Know-Who." Said Zacharias the only one who seemed cool and collect, though even on the inside he felt terrified

**Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said about Voldemort moving beyond "usual evil."**

"True that." Said Ernie softly, remembering Zacharias previous statement.

"**Isn't there any way of putting yourself back together?" Ron asked.**

"**Yes," said Hermione with a hollow smile, "but it would be excruciatingly painful."**

"**Why? How do you do it?" asked Harry.**

"Remorse." Whispered Luna to herself, so only Dennis could hear her.

"**Remorse," said Hermione. **

Dennis looked at Luna in shock.

"**You've got to really feel what you've done. There's a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can't see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?"**

"**No," said Ron, before Harry could answer. "So does it say how to destroy Horcruxes in that book?"**

**"Yes," said Hermione, now turning the fragile pages as if examining rotting entrails, "because it warns Dark wizards how strong they have to make the enchantments on them. From all that I've read, what Harry did to Riddle's diary was one of the few really foolproof ways of destroying a Horcrux."**

Hearing of the diary, Ginny paled incredibly.

"**What, stabbing it with a basilisk fang?" asked Harry.**

"**Oh well, lucky we've got such a large supply of basilisk fangs, then," said Ron. "I was wondering what we were going to do with them."**

Many snorted at the comment.

"**It doesn't have to be a basilisk fang," said Hermione patiently. "It has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux can't repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and it's incredibly rare –"**

"– **phoenix tears," said Harry, nodding.**

"**Exactly," said Hermione. "Our problem is that there are very few substances as destructive as basilisk venom, and they're all dangerous to carry around with you. That's a problem we're going to have to solve, though, because ripping, smashing, or crushing a Horcrux won't do the trick. You've got to put it beyond magical repair."**

"**But even if we wreck the thing it lives in," said Ron, "why can't the bit of soul in it just go and live in something else?"**

"**Because a Horcrux is the complete opposite of a human being."**

**Seeing that Harry and Ron looked thoroughly confused, **

So as many people in the room too.

**Hermione hurried on. "Look, if I picked up a sword right now, Ron, and ran you through with it, I wouldn't damage your soul at all."**

"**Which would be a real comfort to me, I'm sure," said Ron. Harry laughed.**

"**It should be, actually! But my point is that whatever happens to your body, your soul will survive, untouched," said Hermione. "But it's the other way round with a Horcrux. The fragment of soul inside it depends on its container, its enchanted body, for survival. It can't exist without it."**

"**That diary sort of died when I stabbed it," said Harry, remembering ink pouring like blood from the punctured pages, and the screams of the piece of Voldemort's soul as it vanished.**

Molly cringed into Arthur's side at the description.

"**And once the diary was properly destroyed, the bit of soul trapped in it could no longer exist. Ginny tried to get rid of the diary before you did, flushing it away, but obviously it came back good as new.** **While the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don't mean holding it for too long, it's nothing to do with touching it," she added before Ron could speak. **

"**I mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You're in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux."**

Ginny felt heat come to her face, her stomach twisted and she kept her eyes looking at her hands, resting on her lap.

"Ginny?" a small voice said, Ginny didn't know who said it but, didn't care.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ginny stated firmly.

"Why?" asked a familiar snarky voice of Zacharias.

"Cause she doesn't!' said Neville "Keep reading!"

Pavarti took one look at Ginny, clearing her throat she continued.

**"I wonder how Dumbledore destroyed the ring?" said Harry. "Why didn't I ask him? I never really . . ."**

**His voice trailed away: He was thinking of all the things he should have asked Dumbledore, and of how, since the headmaster had died, it seemed to Harry that he had wasted so many opportunities when Dumbledore had been alive, to find out more . . . to find out everything. . . .**

**The silence was shattered as the bedroom door flew open with a wall-shaking crash. Hermione shrieked and dropped Secrets of the Darkest Art; Crookshanks streaked under the bed, hissing indignantly; Ron jumped off the bed, skidded on a discarded Chocolate Frog wrapper, and smacked his head on the opposite wall; and Harry instinctively dived for his wand before realizing that he was looking up at Mrs. Weasley, whose hair was disheveled and whose face was contorted with rage.**

"Uh-oh." Said Colin and Dennis.

"**I'm so sorry to break up this cozy little gathering," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm sure you all need your rest . . . but there are wedding presents stacked in my room that need sorting out and I was under the impression that you had agreed to help."**

"**Oh yes," said Hermione, looking terrified as she leapt to her feet, sending books flying in every direction. "we will . . . we're sorry . . ."**

**With an anguished look at Harry and Ron, Hermione hurried out of the room after Mrs. Weasley.**

"**It's like being a house-elf," complained Ron in an undertone, still massaging his head as he and Harry followed. "Except without the job satisfaction. The sooner this wedding's over, the happier, I'll be."**

"**Yeah," said Harry, "then we'll have nothing to do except find Horcruxes. . . . It'll be like a holiday, won't it?"**

**Ron started to laugh, but at the sight of the enormous pile of wedding presents waiting for them in Mrs. Weasley's room, stopped quite abruptly.**

**The Delacours arrived the following morning at eleven o' clock. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were feeling quite resentful toward Fleur's family by this time; and it was with ill grace that Ron stumped back upstairs to put on matching socks, and Harry attempted to flatten his hair. **

"Never going to work." Neville and Seamus said, being in the same dorm as Harry, they watched him, trying to flatten down his hair so often, the task seemed impossible.

**Once they had all been deemed smart enough, they trooped out into the sunny backyard to await the visitors.**

**Harry had never seen the place looking so tidy. The rusty cauldrons and old Wellington boots that usually littered the steps by the back door were gone, replaced by two new Flutterby bushes standing either side of the door in large pots; though there was no breeze, the leaves waved lazily, giving an attractive rippling effect. The chickens had been shut away, the yard had been swept, and the nearby garden had been pruned, plucked, and generally spruced up, although Harry, who liked it in its overgrown state, thought that it looked rather forlorn without its usual contingent of capering gnomes.**

**He had lost track of how many security enchantments had been placed upon the Burrow by both the Order and the Ministry; all he knew was that it was no longer possible for anybody to travel by magic directly into the place. **

" That's probably the safest you could get." Muttered Terry.

"They have Harry there of course they would have to be safest as they could be." Said Cho, with what seemed to have worry in her voice.

Ginny peaked, her head up, to shoot a look at Cho.

**Mr. Weasley had therefore gone to meet the Delacours on top of a nearby hill, where they were to arrive by Portkey. The first sound of their approach was an unusually high-pitched laugh, which turned out to be coming from Mr. Weasley, who appeared at the gate moments later, laden with luggage and leading a beautiful blonde woman in long, leaf green robes, who could be Fleur's mother.**

"**Maman!" cried Fleur, rushing forward to embrace her. "Papa!"**

**Monsieur Delacour was nowhere near as attractive as his wife; he was a head shorter and extremely plumb, with a little, pointed black beard. However, he looked good-natured. **

"Why would she marry someone, not attractive?" Seamus asked.

"I find it quite sweet, that people don't care about looks." Said Hannah softly.

"Hey maybe there is hope for you yet Seamus!" commented Lavender, the Patil twins looked at Lavender, they never heard that type of comment from Lavender.

"Ouch. That hurt."

**Bouncing towards Mrs. Weasley on high-heeled boots, he kissed her twice on each cheek, leaving her flustered.**

"**You 'ave been to so much trouble," he said in a deep voice. "Fleur tells us you 'ave been working very 'ard."**

"**Oh, it's been nothing, nothing!" trilled Mrs. Weasley. "No trouble at all!"**

**Ron relieved his feelings by aiming a kick at a gnome who was peering out from behind one of the new Flutterby bushes.**

Some chuckled at this.

"**Dear lady!" said Monsieur Delacour, still holding Mrs. Weasley's hand between his own two plump ones and beaming. "We are most honored at the approaching union of our two families! Let me present my wife, Apolline."**

**Madame Delacour glided forward and stooped to kiss Mrs. Weasley too.**

"**Enchantée," she said. "Your 'usband 'as been telling us such amusing stories!"**

**Mr. Weasley gave a maniacal laugh; Mrs. Weasley threw him a look, upon which he became immediately silent and assumed an expression appropriate to the sickbed of a close friend.**

**"And, of course, you 'ave met my leetle daughter, Gabrielle!" said Monsieur Delacour. Gabrielle was Fleur in miniature; eleven years old, with waist-length hair of pure, silvery blonde, she gave Mrs. Weasley a dazzling smile and hugged her, then threw Harry a glowing look, batting her eyelashes. Ginny cleared her throat loudly.**

"Someone's jealous." Parvarti sang softly, looking at Ginny for a reaction, who know sat her arms and legs crossed, she was happy to see a smile tugging on her lips.

"**Well, come in, do!" said Mrs. Weasley brightly, and she ushered the Delacours into the house, with many "No, please!"s and "After you!"s and "Not at all!"s.**

**The Delacours, it soon transpired, were helpful, pleasant guests. They were pleased with everything and keen to assist with the preparations for the wedding. Monsieur Delacour pronounced everything from the seating plan to the bridesmaids' shoes "Charmant!" Madame Delacour was most accomplished at household spells and had the oven properly cleaned in a trice; Gabrielle followed her elder sister around, trying to assist in any way she could and jabbering away in rapid French.**

**On the downside, the Burrow was not built to accommodate so many people. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were now sleeping in the sitting room, having shouted down Monsieur and Madame Delacour's protests and insisted they take their bedroom. Gabrielle was sleeping with Fleur in Percy's old room, and Bill would be sharing with Charlie, his best man, once Charlie arrived from Romania. Opportunities to make plans together became virtually nonexistent,**

"That sucks." Commented Colin.

"Try sharing a bathroom with two other girls." Commented Ginny quietly.

**and it was in desperation that Harry, Ron and Hermione took to volunteering to feed the chickens just to escape the overcrowded house.**

**"But she still won't leave us alone!" snarled Ron, and their second attempt at a meeting in the yard was foiled by the appearance of Mrs. Weasley carrying a large basket of laundry in her arms.**

"**Oh, good, you've fed the chickens," she called as she approached them. "We'd better shut them away again before the men arrive tomorrow . . . to put up the tent for the wedding," she explained, pausing to lean against the henhouse. She looked exhausted. "Millamant's Magic Marquees . . . they're very good. Bill's escorting them. . . . You'd better stay inside while they're here, Harry. I must say it does complicate organizing a wedding, having all these security spells around the place."**

"**I'm sorry," said Harry humbly.**

"**Oh, don't be silly, dear!" said Mrs. Weasley at once. "I didn't mean – well, your safety's much more important! Actually, I've been wanting to ask you how you want to celebrate your birthday, Harry. Seventeen, after all, it's an important day. . . ."**

Some of the D.A smiled remembering their own seventeen birthdays.

"I can't wait to have mine." Whispered Dennis to his older brother.

"**I don't want a fuss," said Harry quickly, envisaging the additional strain this would put on them all.**

"**Really, Mrs. Weasley, just a normal dinner would be fine. . . . It's the day before the wedding. . . ."**

"**Oh, well, if you're sure, dear. I'll invite Remus and Tonks, shall I? And how about Hagrid?"**

**That'd be great," said Harry. "But please, don't go to loads of trouble."**

"**Not at all, not at all . . . It's no trouble. . . ."**

**She looked at him, a long, searching look, then smiled a little sadly, straightened up, and walked away. Harry watched as she waved her wand near the washing line, and the damp clothes rose into the air to hang themselves up, and suddenly he felt a great wave of remorse for the inconvenience and the pain he was giving her.**

Many frowned at the last statement.

"That's it!" Pavarti said smiling. "What time is it?" she asked, everyone turned to the wall clock.

"A couple minutes past curfew." Said Neville "Luna take the book, come on guys let the Hufflepuffs go first-." He ordered, as Luna took the book and Hannah, Ernie, and Zacharias left quickly through the hole.

**A/N: Tada! I finished! I know took forever but, I was just in a funk, starting school and such. But, one evening I just continued, and now I'm back! Please review good or bad….. but, I prefer good. **


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